Premier League English

Conte insists Arsenal very much in the picture even after Tottenham win

Antonio Conte has told BBC Sport Arsenal still have a significant advantage in the race for the Premier League top-four despiteTottenham Hotspur following up with another magnificent win on Sunday.

Spurs have now eased themselves into fourth spot in the Premier League after convincingly thrashing Newcastle 5-1 at the weekend to go level on points with the Gunners but with a better goal difference.

The Gunners play Crystal Palace on Monday and any points ensuing will leapfrog Mikel Arteta’s side back into fourth. A win, on the other hand, will take the Gunners to within two points of Chelsea in third.

A North London derby and some daunting games lie ahead for Arsenal, which would present a serious challenge for them to make the most of their two games in hand, while Conte believes that fourth spot is still Arsenal’s to lose while he reflected on Tottenham’s prospects of holding onto their current advantage in the table.

“In this moment it will be very difficult to make big mistakes, because in this race there are other teams,” he told BBC Sport.

“There is Arsenal who in this moment have a good advantage, United, West Ham and also Wolverhampton are doing very well.

“We have to try to stay in the race and give our best to make our fans happy.”

Even though it’s likely Conte may be trying to take pressure off Tottenham players with his Arsenal claim, it certainly at this point looks like the race for the top-four is now a clear tussle between Tottenham and Arsenal with the pair three points clear of West Ham and Manchester United.

Spurs have the advantage of having a game in hand over the Hammers, while United are obviously in dubious form right now. Wolves are straggling five points behind with only have seven games left to play.

Which possibly means that Conte’s initiative of naming them all as contenders would perhaps hint that he is trying to take pressure off his players.