"Very, very close"- Tottenham Hotspur boss Antonio Conte delivers interesting verdict on Arsenal and others in top-four race
Tottenham Hotspur boss Antonio Conte believes Spurs, Arsenal, and West Ham United have a chance of finishing in the Premier League top four this season.
Spurs claimed an impressive victory over the Hammers in the English top flight on Sunday to add drama to the ongoing top-four race.
Tottenham Hotspur took an early lead, thanks to an own goal from Kurt Zouma in the ninth minute. Son Heung-min doubled their lead in the 24th minute before Said Benrahma halved the north London club's advantage in the 35th minute. Son helped Spurs secure victory by scoring their third goal in the 88th minute.
Tottenham Hotspur's latest result helped them leapfrog West Ham and Manchester United into fifth place in the Premier League table. Spurs are now just three points behind fourth-placed Arsenal, who have a game in hand over them.
After his side's win over West Ham, Antonio Conte gave his verdict on the race for the final Champions League place. He said (via HITC):
"Usually there are four teams in England that, in my opinion, in this moment are better than the others. I am talking about City, United, Chelsea and Liverpool."
"But if any of these four teams fail for the season and miss to stay in one of the four places, I think that now in this moment, Arsenal, Tottenham, West Ham, they need to be ready to try to stay until the end. Very close, very close."
Tottenham Hotspur fans will hope Harry Kane and Heung Son-Min can continue their impressive form until the end of the season.
Kane endured a slow start to the campaign but has scored seven goals and provided three assists in his last seven league appearances. Son has scored four goals in Spurs' last five league games.
Tottenham move above Manchester United to go fifth in the Premier League 📈 https://t.co/pIfscrT3Ms
Tottenham Hotspur must maintain consistency if they are to close the gap on Arsenal
Tottenham Hotspur have shown signs of improvement since Antonio Conte took over the reins at the club midway through the first half of the season. Their lack of consistency has, however, been a major source of concern for the club's fans.
Spurs have won five and lost five of their last 10 games in all competitions. They have been prolific in front of goal recently, scoring 12 times in their last four league games.
However, Conte's side must maintain consistency if they are to catch up to fourth-placed Arsenal.
🗣 "The performance was always good in every game."
Antonio Conte on attempting to turn around Tottenham's inconsistency today https://t.co/QfByJSjJ7F
The Gunners have been in impressive form, winning six and losing one of their last seven Premier League games.
Mikel Arteta's side are the favorites to finish in the top four ahead of Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester United, and West Ham.