Stan Collymore believes Arsenal will choke in their final run-in and backed either Tottenham or Manchester United to pip the Gunners to a fourth-place finish.
Spurs’ Champions League qualification hopes seemed to be hanging by a thread when the Lilywhites lost a proverbial six-pointer to Man Utd earlier this month.
However, back-to-back wins over Brighton and West Ham United have brought Conte’s men right back into the thick of the race for fourth place.
Tottenham now sit just three points behind their North London rivals in fourth, although Mikel Arteta’s men do have a game in hand.
In addition, Spurs arguably have the easiest run-in until the end of the season while Arsenal have some tough away trips coming up, including one at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Collymore believes Arsenal will choke in the final run-in, given their struggles to get results against the top sides over recent months.
The former Liverpool man even asserted that he would wear an Arsenal shirt with ‘Arteta 8’ on the back if the Gunners prove him wrong.
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Collymore told The Daily Mirror: “Arsenal, this is it.
“This is the run-in, this is where we get down to business, and it’s time now for Mikel Arteta and the boys to ram everything I’ve said about them again this season firmly back down my throat.
“They’re in pole position, their youngsters are absolutely thriving and they’re playing quality, on-the-front-foot, attacking football.
“But they have also been dross against the very best and let’s see what that means in the shake-up.
“They still have some decent teams to play, they’re up against Tottenham and Manchester United for that fourth and final Champions League spot, and both of those other clubs will be quite happy for Arsenal to be talked about in column inches with everyone raving about how great they are.
“I’m going for United or Spurs to pip them to the post, though, with Arsenal to choke in the run-in.
“And if they can prove me wrong, I will quite happily wear an Arsenal shirt with ‘Arteta 8’ on the back and post a picture of it on the last day of the season. So come on, Gunners, bring it on.”
Spurs Web Opinion
Tottenham certainly have the easiest run-in by far among the three clubs but that is not as big an advantage as it seems, given that Conte’s men have lost some winnable games over recent months. The race for fourth might very well come down to the result of the North London derby.
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