Yes, the race for the top 4 is between Arsenal and Tottenham but there is no denying the fact that Tottenham got themselves in this situation, to begin with. When they signed Antonio Conte, I was optimistic like everyone else for Tottenham because of how he has been labelled; a serial winner.
No one can doubt the passion and efforts of Antonio Conte and this is the reason I wish Manchester United signed him instead of Tottenham. I was hoping we would go for him in the summer but Tottenham acted fast and got him off the market. There is a lot to admire about this man, not just his tactics but his honesty and emotions that can always rub off on the players.
There was a time earlier in the season when Tottenham looked poised to snatch the top 4 spot because they were close and if they had gained maximum points in their 4 outstanding games then, they would have been a bit ahead of Arsenal right now. They dropped points when it mattered and they found themselves in this situation which is their own doing.
Tottenham played well against Leicester City and won by 3-1, thanks to a double from Son and another goal from Harry Kane. Kelechi Iheanacho gave Leicester City a consolation goal late into the game but it only ruined the clean sheet for Hugo Lloris but it's not enough to inspire any late comeback since they have run out of time.
The major problem with Tottenham is that the moment Harry Kane and Son are not in form, they always struggle and they struggle real bad. They have built their game around these two and you would expect others to step up but they seem to struggle. Bergwijn always have his moments where he would blaze the trail and in the next game, he would just be running around with no clear direction. This is one of the major reasons why Tottenham fell off the wagon and are now playing catch-up with Arsenal due to the form of Harry Kane and Son, sometimes.
Every team knows that the moment they keep Kane and Son on a tight leash, there is nothing more Tottenham can do because their threats have been nullified. They temporarily moved into the top 4 after they won against Leicester City but with Arsenal winning against West Ham, they got knocked out yet again.
As much as I want to believe so much in Tottenham to snatch the top 4 slot at the last minute, I can't find them reliable enough to do it, not because they lacked quality but because other teams know that they depend so much on Harry Kane and Son.
Tottenham can go from world-class to average in just a matter of games and it makes me wonder if they are truly ready for this top 4. Arsenal cannot be trusted too but the difference is that anyone can score for Arsenal and they move the ball quickly too, something Tottenham needs to do often.
We are at the business end of the season already and this is when Tottenham needs to become more ruthless and aggressive if they are to take advantage of any slip up IF there is any slip up on the part of Arsenal. All the times they were expected to take advantage of it, they didn't either but hopefully, they can be ready IF that happens this time around.
Antonio Conte would love nothing more than to qualify for the Champions League spot but his players need to take advantage of every opportunity to get the goals and the wins. Others need to step up and chip in. Kulusevski has adapted so well and we can all see from the two quality assists he gave Son yesterday. Others need to produce so they can achieve their goal by the end of the season and if not, they would have to play catch-up to Arsenal for the rest of the season.
Thank you for your time.
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