Lee Dixon explains why Arsenal will finish in Premier League top four over Spurs
Alan Smith has backed Arsenal to secure a top four place over Tottenham this season since he believes there is a ‘tight team spirit’ with the Gunners.
Arsenal currently sit sixth in the Premier League two points out of the final Champions League place currently occupied by West Ham.
Meanwhile, Tottenham are level with Mikel Arteta’s side in seventh but have as many as four games in hand over some sides around them.
Spurs, though, were heavily active in the recently-concluded January transfer window to strengthen their squad over their north London counterparts, whose biggest move was terminating the contract of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (The Times).
Juventus pair Dejan Kulusevski and Rodrigo Bentancur were drafted in on deadline day, while Dele Alli, Tanguy Ndombele, Giovani Lo Celso and Bryan Gil all departed the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium (Sky Sports).
Despite that, ex-Arsenal man Smith is backing his former side to pip Spurs to the top four this term due to the tight-nit squad assembled by manager Arteta.
Smith told Sky Sports: “It’s a really difficult one to call. I can’t see Manchester United doing it. I just can’t see them getting there with the way they’ve been playing.
“There might be a resurgence, we will wait and see, but there seem to be too many problems to fix at Old Trafford at the moment.
“For me, it might just be between the two north London clubs, Arsenal and Tottenham, which would be very interesting. Perhaps West Ham’s squad might just not be strong enough, especially if Michail Antonio picked up an injury.
“Obviously Spurs have got a couple of games in hand and were they to win those, they would go above the Gunners, but I’m just going to side with Arsenal.
“I’m going with Arteta’s side because they have come a long way this season and there’s a tight team spirit at the Emirates Stadium. There is less to sort out there than at Tottenham so that’s why I’ll go for my former team.”
Spurs Web Opinion
Spurs at the moment do look like they are best placed to beat the likes of Arsenal, West Ham and Manchester United to the final top four place. They have somewhat bolstered the outlook of the squad and still have games in hand to fulfil. It’s just a case of putting everything together in the final half of the season.
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