Tottenham Hotspur forward Harry Kane.
Tottenham Hotspur striker Harry Kane believes his side cannot slip up in any match going forward if they are to finish in the top four ahead of rivals Arsenal.
Spurs have dropped points in each of their last two Premier League matches, losing 1-0 at home to Brighton & Hove Albion and drawing 0-0 at Brentford. In the same period, the Gunners have beaten Chelsea 4-2 at Stamford Bridge and seen off Manchester United 3-1 at home.
Arsenal are now fourth in the league standings with 60 points from 33 matches. Tottenham are fifth and trail Mikel Arteta’s side by two points, having played the same number of games.
Kane recently admitted that they are disappointed with their recent results but believes they can turn it around. He said (as quoted by football.london):
“The last two [games] especially, to only get one point from those two games is disappointing. We’re running out of games in terms of dropping points. There are five games left and we feel like we are pretty much going to have to win all of them to get that spot.”
The Englishman went on to add:
“We are more than capable of doing that, we believe in that and that is what we’ll try and do. If we win the last five games we will be in the Champions League so that is how we’ve got to look at it. We know those five games will be difficult, we go Liverpool away as well which will be very tough.”
Kane, who is Tottenham’s top-scorer this season with 22 goals from 45 matches across all competitions, concluded:
“As we’ve seen this season we have dropped points against teams where we were probably expected to win and so have the others around us. It is by all means not done yet. We have to stay focused and keep working hard. We have a little gap now to prepare and work and hopefully, we can put in a good performance against Leicester.”
What fixtures could define the race between Arsenal and Tottenham for top 4?
As Kane mentioned, Spurs’ match against the title-chasing Liverpool could be pivotal in the top-four race. Antonio Conte’s side will visit Anfield on 7 May while Arsenal will face Leeds United a day later.
The Gunners themselves have a tough fixture before that as they take on West Ham United at the London Stadium on 1 May. Spurs will also be in action that day and will fancy their chances against an inconsistent Leicester City at home.
But the fixture that could ultimately decide the Premier League’s top-four race will be the north London derby on 12 May. Tottenham will host that match, which could give them an edge, but Arsenal will certainly pose a stiff challenge.
Arteta’s troops will end their season with matches against Newcastle United and Everton while Spurs take on Burnley and Norwich City in their final two games.
