Tottenham leave door ajar for Arsenal

18Mar 2013

England - Premier League

After an intriguing round of Premier League action, Christian Crowther assesses the race for those precious Champions League spots...

Who said Tottenham were a one-man team? Three games without a Gareth Bale goal (one missed through suspension) have prompted three straight defeats for the Londoners, but this is too cheap a shot to take at Spurs.

Instead, it seems the psychological scars of last season's agonising submission to Arsenal may just be resurfacing.

Having opened up a 12-point gap over the Gunners at the start of February last year, Spurs looked to have finally shaken off their north London foes after 16 straight campaigns finishing below them.

However, the hoodoo finally caught up with Harry Redknapp's side as Tottenham inexplicably faded, allowing Arsenal to overhaul them into third and clinch what turned out to be the final Champions League berth.

Fast-forward a year and it's been a week to forget for Andre Villas-Boas' Spurs side, who followed up defeats to Liverpool and Inter by wilting 1-0 at home to a Fulham outfit which had only recorded two away wins all season before visiting White Hart Lane on Sunday.

Now, Lilywhites everywhere are getting that foreboding feeling that history may repeat itself with arch rivals Arsenal poised to ambush their Champions League dreams once again.

Successive Premier League losses have seen Chelsea overtake Spurs into third, while Arsenal are now bearing down, just four points back with a game in hand.

After Sunday's win over West Ham, Rafa Benitez's Blues are now rated at 1.41 to clinch third spot or above, while Tottenham are teetering just ahead of Arsenal in the betting at 3.7 and 3.9 respectively for a top-three finish.

Suddenly, the momentum has shifted in the race for Europe's elite competition. Rafa is finally starting to prove his critics wrong, recording three league wins from their last four games.

While, Arsene Wenger's much-maligned Arsenal side have emerged from their blackest moment at Spurs to bounce back with a confidence-boosting win over Bayern before beating bogey side Swansea on Saturday.

The market has reacted to Tottenham's nerves with Arsenal backed into 1.92 for a top-four finish, now ahead of Spurs, who are rated at 2.1, in the betting.