There is a fierce battle for a place in next year’s Champions League. Arsenal are very close to the last place that grants them access to the most prestigious inter club competition in the world and have already started preparing for a direct battle with Tottenham. Spurs are only 4 points ahead of the Gunners and the two teams are going head to head on the 3rd of March. The match will take place at White Hart Lane and it will probably decide the team which will qualify for the Champions League.
Before facing each other, both teams have some important matches to win. Arsenal are facing Aston Villa, a team that has had one of their most inconsistent seasons so far but have managed to win their last game. Tottenham are heading to Upton Park hoping to extend their 10 match undefeated streak against West Ham and keep their 4 point lead over the Gunners.
Wenger has already issued a statement regarding the clash between Premier League standings neighbors and said that Arsenal will be fighting until the last fixture in order to secure a place in next year’s Champion League. The Gunners have been going through a pretty rough period and although they managed to win against Sunderland, their spirits are down because of the multiple injuries that are currently decimating their defensive line.
Andre Villas-Boas’ Spurs are very confident that this year Arsenal will not manage to pull the same stunt as last season when they managed their 15th successive qualification for the Champions League after catching up with Tottenham, even though Spurs had a 10 point lead late on in the season. Their downfall started after losing their match at the Emirates, so this year extra attention is being paid to the clash against Arsenal.
There are only 12 matches left in this season and Wenger is pretty confident that a win against Tottenham will bring his team into the top four and keep it there for the rest of the season. The Frenchman also talked about the excellent team relations that have formed between his players and pointed at their 1-0 win against Sunderland when Arsenal managed to get the three points even if they played most of the second half with a one player disadvantage caused by Jenkinson’s sending off. He admits his defensive line has taken a pretty bad hit and some players are uncertain for the next fixture against Aston Villa, but hopes his team will be fully functional before the pivotal match against their North London rivals on the 3rd of March.