The last time Tottenham finished in the top 4, unfortunately, it wasn’t at the expense of Arsenal. This season, with a hard fought derby win at White Hart Lane continuing the streak of lack of success for the gunners at the stadium, Spurs seem to be letting Gareth Bale take them all the way into the Champions League, at the expense of their greatest rivals.
A big game from Spurs? Nope. Just two goals from their two best players, epitomizing what they’re all about when it comes to offense – counter attacks and speed. Gareth Bale is a special phenomenon, exploding to full effect this season, already scoring 16 league goals and becoming another one to put a nail in the coffin of the need for a striker to score goals. Bale is so much more than a left winger, but whatever his position is, he’s certainly scoring goals in it.
On the other side, Arsenal keep looking like a team settling for mediocrity All the talk of shareholders and Arsene Wenger about the health of the club and not spending too much money to ensure the future of the club seem more and more like pitiful excuses, as one of the biggest payrolls in the Premier League is sinking further away from a Champions League spot. The last time Arsenal failed to make it into the top 4 of the Premier League, it was 1996, when Arsene Wenger merely began his project of changing the face of the team.
Tottenham didn’t play attractive football, but neither did Arsenal. They simply can’t, despite the talent in the midfield. Too much is about relying on Jack Wilshere to make things happen, and he can’t do it all on his own. Maybe not yet, maybe never, but it really doesn’t matter. Settling for average yet too expensive signings like Olivier Giroud and Lukas Podolski paved the way for yet another Arsenal loss, one in which they dominated possession but simply couldn’t find the quality that hasn’t been there for a long time, denying them, probably, a chance to finish above Tottenham for yet another season.