Sinking fast! Arsenal taunted by AVB as Spurs grab third spot after derby victory

PUBLISHED: 17:00 EST, 3 March 2013 | UPDATED: 03:31 EST, 4 March 2013

Andre Villas-Boas claimed Arsenal are a spent force after Tottenham stretched their lead over their north London rivals to seven points.

Gareth Bale, who scored his 16th Premier League goal of the season, and Aaron Lennon put Spurs in control at White Hart Lane before Per Mertesacker pulled one back for the Gunners.

The Tottenham manager said Arsenal were trapped in a ‘negative spiral of results’ and Arsene Wenger now faces the prospect of missing out on a top-four finish for the first time since he became Arsenal manager in 1996.

VIDEO: Scroll down to watch highlights from White Hart Lane

Magic: Gareth Bale scored once again for Spurs as he gave them the lead midway through the first-half

New era: Andre Villas-Boas feels that Arsene Wenger's Arsenal will finish out of the Champions League places

Spurs jumped into third place ahead of Chelsea, and are just two points behind champions Manchester City as they chase a Champions League place.

Villas-Boas said: ‘It’s not a big margin yet for us to be completely safe but it can have a direct effect on their motivation and on ours.

‘For them, the difference from last year is that we are on an upward spiral in terms of confidence and they are in a negative spiral in terms of results.

‘To be out of that negative spiral is extremely difficult for Arsenal but we have seen in the past they have been able to finish seasons strongly.

Speedster: Aaron Lennon raced clear of the off-side trap to score Tottenham's second

Happy days: Spurs fans have every right to be feeling optimistic going into the end of the season

‘We have seen so many shifts in league positions that we can’t stop. Confidence makes a difference and makes you better.

‘Playing in all these big games — against Inter Milan on Thursday and Liverpool next weekend — can give a big lift to the squad and make the players better. That’s what we want.

‘There is great focus on trying to make this the year we qualify for the Champions League again.

‘They have been absolutely outstanding. They have made their ambition public and their desire has been tremendous.’

Ineffective: Olivier Giroud was criticised by Wenger for not causing enough problems on the Spurs goal

Michael Dawson, outstanding at the back for Spurs, added: ‘Seven points is a massive lead and this was a huge game. We have a great squad and a great team. It wasn’t a great performance but we deserved to win it.

‘We want to be back in the Champions League and we showed that after this performance.’

Wenger admitted it will be a huge challenge for Arsenal to finish in the top four after their seventh defeat. The Arsenal manager blamed his defence for the two goals conceded in quick succession and criticised striker Olivier Giroud for failing to trouble Spurs’ defence.

Wenger said: ‘It is a massive challenge to finish in the top four.

‘It’s so frustrating because they played on the counter-attack and defended, so it’s difficult to understand why we lost the game.

Minimal chance: Wenger has said that it will be very difficult for Arsenal to finish in the top four now

‘We were not effective in the zones that matter, the front and the back. It’s happened to us many times this season and only in big games.

‘I cannot fault the attitude or the effort the team produced, the spirit they showed. But you give yourselves a mountain to climb.

‘In the final 20 minutes it was stop and go. They fouled to stop us and stayed down a lot. We couldn’t get the final flow into the game.’

One Arsenal fan threw a banana at Bale when he won a corner in the first half. Villas-Boas, along with Tottenham officials, claimed they did not see the incident.

VIDEO: Tottenham 2 Arsenal 1 - Premier League highlights from White Hart Lane

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CL for past 15 season. - denhen, singapore, 13-03-04 4:36 AM yes but how many times have you won it. There is no point bragging about being in a competition for 15 seasons if you can't even win it.

- School_Boy , Toronto, Canada, 04/3/2013 09:02

Click to rate Rating 2

I wish DM would headline these stories better and not make people think the wrong thing before even reading the article, you make it sound like AVB said something really bad and yet he did not, its just not fair on your readers DM because some people make up their minds before they even read the article and then go on an slam someone who did not say anything bad at all

- stella , stratford, 04/3/2013 09:00

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Podolski is class, I do not understand why he does not start! I hope spurs finish above arsenal, but they have been in this situation a few times and always seem to bottle it!

- tony , london, United Kingdom, 04/3/2013 08:48

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@return of the egg, you are a horrid little man, deserting arsenal when most needed.. typical of your comments on this board though - the chelsea prince, chiang mai thailand, 04/03/2013 08:07 I've had enough, the last 8 months have been horrible, I need to support a team that wins, I want glory! Arsenal are nothing to me anymore

- Return of the Egg , London, United Kingdom, 04/3/2013 08:29

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Given the two teams final games this year if I was AVB I would tread a little carefully, the Spurs run in on paper looks a lot harder than Arsenal. Of the perceive top teams Arsenal only play Man Utd and Everton, whist Spurs play Liverpool, Everton, Man City and Chelsea now winning those games could be critical,

- alan , Its not important, France, 04/3/2013 08:22

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@return of the egg, you are a horrid little man, deserting arsenal when most needed.. typical of your comments on this board though

- the chelsea prince , chiang mai thailand, 04/3/2013 08:07

Click to rate Rating 2

Oh plzzzz. AFC will finish forth above 5pur2! Fact!

- Gunner4life , Pretoria, 04/3/2013 08:06

Click to rate Rating 18

AVB - you are childish and very, very unprofessional and these comments apply to any manager who makes negative and insulting comments about other teams. In over 55 years of supporting Arsenal I have witnessed London dominance from Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham and now it seems Tottenham have that honour. Am I jealous? No! I just enjoy football and London teams faring well. Arsenal have a big problem at the moment with a greedy board, a manager with no balls and antiquated ideas which has resulted in bad selling and buying of players for nothing but profit. After 16 years this will be the first time Wenger has failed to lead us into Europe and maybe, just maybe the abysmal performance this year will bring about the changes so badly needed. Yes, we are in a downward spiral but this has been the case for the past 5 years but despite your stupidity and crass comments Mr Boas, I wish you and your team well in the CL next year and maybe Arsenal will join you in the future.

- Grumpyoldman , Maldon, United Kingdom, 04/3/2013 08:05

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AVB - the phrase 'one man team' has never been more appropriate. Without Bale u'd be a mid table outfit, as for all u spurs fans getting carried away with yourself - if anything happens to Bale your in trouble and I don't believe that Bale is good enough to remain in the rich vain of form until the end of the season anyway, which is when he'll start rolling around every second again. This has been posted by a neutral don't support any club with direct link or rivalry to spurs, just see all the spurs fans and now there manager getting to big for there boots. And what's the heart shaped hand goal celebration all about? Probably the worst in league history, somebody needs to do him a favour and have little word!!!

- dmw777 , Folkestone, Kent, 04/3/2013 08:02

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It was a deserved victory for Spurs. But I don't think Spurs were much better than Arsenal. It will take time for them to overtake Arsenal and they will do if things don't change at Arsenal. Arsenal played quite well and result would have been different if we had RVP or any decent striker we were linked with but never bought. Giroud is not suited for Arsenal play style and if he stays as lone striker for next season too we are doomed. And defence needs to be overhauled. Whatever players we had but why Podolski was on bench. Why won't you play him in middle and play Ox on left. Wenger's tactics are getting bad now.

- GunnerforLife , Bangalore India, 04/3/2013 07:58

Click to rate Rating 6

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