Arsenal great Paul Merson has labelled Tottenham a "one-man team" and says Harry Kane can't keep on carrying them forever.
Spurs sneaked into fourth spot by smashing Newcastle last weekend, with Arsenal then suffering a heavy defeat at Crystal Palace. But Merson reckons the Tottenham revival is all about Kane and he believes the England skipper's red-hot form won't last forever.
Arsenal will temporarily can go back above Tottenham if they beat Brighton at the Emirates on Saturday afternoon with Spurs in action at tea time when they travel to the West Midlands to face Aston Villa.
Writing in his Daily Star column Merson said Kane, who has won the Premier League golden boot three times and has 12 goals and six assists this season in 29 games, is the man who makes Spurs tick and they struggle without him.
Merson said: "Spurs are all about Harry Kane. If Kane turns up, they can beat anybody. He turned up at the Etihad a few weeks back, was a nine out of ten, and they win the game. Now he's turned up against West Ham and Newcastle and they've won those games comfortably and put themselves back in the race.
"As long as he turns up, they're alright. But he didn't turn up at Burnley and they lost. For me they're a one-man team because he's the engine. If you own a Ferrari it's no good without an engine in it and he's the engine. For me, as long as Harry Kane keeps turning up, Spurs will be in there and Arsenal will be in trouble. But surely he can't keep performing this well for the rest of the season? As soon as he has one of those off-days Spurs will slip up and Arsenal will pounce."
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Gunners great Merson, who won five major honours in a glittering playing career with the club, reckons Mikel Arteta's side will get back on track this weekend after a disappointing setback against Patrick Vieira's Palace side on Monday after a run of six wins in seven Premier League games before that defeat.
Merson added: "It's going to change every week. Spurs have a tough game this weekend at Aston Villa and they could easily draw or lose it. think it was a wake-up call the way Arsenal lost to Crystal Palace. They were well beaten. It put pressure on them with Tottenham winning and I don't think they handled it very well. But I think Arsenal beat Brighton tomorrow in the early kick-off and the pressure flips back on Spurs then. It's going to be like this until the end of the season.
"Arsenal have brought West Ham and Manchester United back into it as well by losing. But I think there will be a lot of twists and turns to come yet. It's all about bounceback. Arsenal have to bounce back this weekend. If they win they're back on track again."
