Such a suggestion seemed unthinkable and implausible after half an hour of yesterday’s match. Do you think the Gunners could have the last laugh?
Spurs went into yesterday’s game with lofty ambitions.
Put their North London rivals in their place, and put the pressure on the two Manchester clubs and join the title race.
Now Spurs can pretty much forget the title, as they sit 10 points below leaders City.
They would be best off looking over their shoulders at the club who mauled them 5-2 yesterday, Arsenal, who are now only seven points behind in fourth.
After the next round of games the table will begin to take shape even more, with Spurs hosting second placed Manchester United, and Arsenal traveling to a buoyant Liverpool.
A Tottenham loss to United would really put them under pressure, and the seeds of doubt may begin to set in.
With 12 games to go it is very much all to play for, and Arsenal will now begin to believe they can haul themselves back in.
Of course reading this Arsenal side is difficult to do. They beat Chelsea 5-3 in similarly spectacular fashion last Autumn, but failed to capitalise on it.
Whether the club manage to finish third or slink backwards into fifth will say a lot about the character of Wenger’s men.
But they certainly showed character at the Emirates yesterday, with Spurs missing a golden opportunity.
Arsenal still have Andre Santos and hopefully Jack Wilshere to come back, while Gervinho will also hope to be more involved after missing recent action through international duty.
After Spurs play United they will have played all of the top seven clubs twice, with the exception of Chelsea, so their run-in would not be as demanding.
Arsenal face a trip to Anfield next time out, and also welcome Chelsea, Manchester City and Newcastle United to the Emirates.
Judging by Arsenal’s inconsistent form this season those ties could go either way, but it is difficult to see them winning all three.
The Gunners also face difficult away trips to Stoke and relegation battlers Wolves, although if they can keep up their level of performance and go on a winning run, the doubt may just creep in with Spurs.
Tottenham will be clear favourites to finish third, they have played superb football this year and yesterday was seemingly a blip.
But this time of the season so much of the game is mental, and is a test of how teams handle pressure. Right now it is theirs to lose.
If Tottenham give their rivals an inch, as they showed yesterday, they may just take a mile.
Can Arsenal beat Spurs to third?
image: © wonker
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