Arsenal backed to capitulate under Tottenham pressure as O’Hara predicts one win from four

Mikel Arteta reviews Arsenal's win against West Ham

We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you’ve consented to and to improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding. You can unsubscribe at any time. More info

Ex-Tottenham player Jamie O’Hara has tipped Arsenal to crumble under the top-four pressure by winning just one of their final four Premier League games this season. The final spot to secure Champions League qualification is likely to fall to one of the local rivals rivals, and a blockbuster North London Derby on May 12 could be the deciding factor. 

Tottenham called on their usual suspects as a Heung-min Son double and Harry Kane header helped them to pull out a 3-1 win over Leicester City on Sunday, which keeps fourth place in their hands. With a North London Derby on the horizon, however, Arsenal are also in control of their own fate after unlikely heroes Rob Holding and Gabriel Magalhaes came up with the goods to leave West Ham’s London Stadium with three points after a 2-1 victory. 

As it stands, the Gunners are two points ahead in the table with four matches to go. A draw in the derby would therefore work in Arsenal’s favour, but O’Hara believes the tables are set to turn due to their tough run-in to see out the campaign.

When asked by talkSPORT about how his former rivals would fare in each of their last four ties, he predicted a win over Leeds and defeats against Tottenham, Newcastle United and relegation-threatened Everton on the final day of the season. 

JUST IN: Christian Pulisic’s dad hints at Chelsea exit in deleted Twitter rant after Everton defeat

In conversation with Gunners legend Ray Parlour, he said: “Arsenal will slip up. I think they’ve got tough games. I think we [Tottenham] have got one more tough game, and then it’s the North London Derby. That’s like a cup final which could go either way.

“I just have to back Spurs, surely you have to back Spurs under the lights, at home, against Arsenal.” Unsurprisingly, Parlour disagreed and pointed out Tottenham’s liability to crumble under the pressure during his playing days. 

While the Premier League table may not suggest that Arsenal have the toughest run of fixtures to clinch fourth spot, a deep dive into the underlying circumstances tells a different story. Newcastle are still in the bottom half but have seen a dramatic upturn in form since Eddie Howe’s reign hit top gear, and Everton could go into the final day fighting for their Premier League survival having last been relegated in 1951. 

Spurs, meanwhile, face a daunting trip to Anfield but round off the campaign with successive matches against Burnley and already-relegated Norwich City. The stakes will be high on May 12 when Arsenal and Tottenham come face to face as the former have not featured in the Champions League since 2017 and the latter since 2020. 

While O’Hara believes that the Gunners will slip up, Conte has warned Tottenham fans that winning all of their remaining fixtures will be ‘impossible’. “In England it’s impossible to think that in every game, you are going to win. You won’t. We have to go step by step, and game by game,” he added.

“We have to go step by step and understand that this is a big opportunity for us and we have to face every game with great enthusiasm, great passion and with joy.”

Source: Read Full Article