Martin Keown Tips Arsenal To Lose Top Four Spot To Tottenham Because Of "Tough" Games
Martin Keown has told Arsenal that "there's still a long way to go" in their bid to finish in the top four and he is tipping his former side to lose out to Tottenham.
Arsenal finished above neighbors Spurs in 22 successive Premier League seasons until 2017.
But since then Tottenham have had five straight years as north London's top team.
Arsenal and Tottenham are among the main contenders to finish fourth in the EPL this year and thus qualify for next season's Champions League.
A 1-0 win over Aston Villa on Saturday moved the Gunners six points clear of Spurs with 10 games each left to play.
Arsenal's goal difference (+13) is also marginally better than Tottenham's (+9).
But Keown feels that Spurs are favorites to finish fourth based on their favorable remaining fixtures.
Keown was on BT Sport's panel of pundits for Villa vs Arsenal.
After the game, he said: "There's a lot of games ahead and I still put Spurs as favorites to actually make it into the top four. Let's see if they can do it.
"Arsenal, now in the boss seat, I know, but when I look at the fixtures, when I see games away at Chelsea and Spurs, it's tough.
"It's in Arsenal's hands and if they keep performing the way they are they can do it, but there's still a long way to go."
BT Sport presenter Jake Humphreys seemed shocked but Keown explained the reasoning behind his cautiousness.
He suggested that Arsenal have previously been guilty of becoming complacent after receiving "too many pats on the back".
On the Gunners' upcoming fixtures, Keown added: "Palace next, Patrick Vieira in charge of that team will want to do something against Arsenal. Lots of tough games coming up.
"They've won five games on the bounce away from home. They're showing that they're resilient and a different Arsenal, but let's keep our feet on the ground.
"Enjoy the journey, of course, and enjoy that win today, but there's still a long way to go."
| Arsenal fixtures | Tottenham fixtures |
|---|---|
Crystal Palace (a) - April 4 | West Ham (h) - March 20 |
Brighton (h) - April 9 | Newcastle (h) - April 3 |
Southampton (a) - April 16 | Aston Villa (a) - April 9 |
Chelsea (a) - April 20 | Brighton (h) - April 16 |
Man United (h) - April 23 | Brentford (a) - April 23 |
West Ham (a) - May 1 | Leicester (h) - April 30 |
Leeds (h) - May 7 | Liverpool (a) - May 7 |
Newcastle (a) - May 15 | Burnley (h) - May 15 |
Everton (h) - May 22 | Norwich (a) - May 22 |
Tottenham (a) - TBC | Arsenal (h) - TBC |
Tottenham face another top four rival in West Ham on Sunday. It is one of six home games Spurs have left.
Another will be against Arsenal in a rearranged fixture, but no date has yet been set.
The north London derby was originally supposed to take place on January 16.
Arsenal asked the Premier League to call it off at the eleventh hour because they had several first-team players unavailable.
Only one of those players, Martin Odegaard, had been missing due to COVID though. The other absentees were because of injury, suspension and call-ups to the Africa Cup of Nations.
Later in January, the Premier League changed its rules to avoid similar requests for postponements. Now a club must have at least four positive cases if it wishes to cite COVID to request the postponement of a Premier League game.
Former Arsenal defender Martin Keown pictured working as a pundit for BT Sport
IMAGO/News Images/Conor Molloy