Gary Neville "would put money" on Tottenham beating Arsenal to the final top four spot despite them sitting one point behind the Gunners.
Antonio Conte's side recorded a dominant 3-0 win over their local rivals in the north London derby to close the gap with just two games remaining. The two sides have been embroiled in a top four race for much of the season with each of them enduring their own dips in form.
Arsenal haven't finished in the top four since 2016 whilst Tottenham last qualified for the Champions League in 2019. The Gunners have recovered recently after three successive defeats but Neville doesn't picture them winning their final two games, which would allow their neighbours to steal a march.
He said on his podcast : "You'd want Tottenham's games - Burnley at home and Norwich away. Newcastle away [for Arsenal] on Monday Night Football , that's going to be really tough, especially if Spurs have won on the Sunday... Everton at home on the last day, if Everton need points, then they've got two really tough games.
"I think Tottenham will beat Burnley and Arsenal will have to win their last two matches - but I'm not sure they will. Tonight was a really big blow - I might be wrong and I'm neutral between these two clubs - but I do feel now if I had to put money on it, it would be on Tottenham."
Conte's side have won six of their last nine games. Their only defeat came against Brighton whilst they secured an impressive draw at Liverpool at the weekend. Arsenal meanwhile have been undone by the likes of Crystal Palace, Southampton and the Seagulls.
HAVE YOUR SAY! Who will finish in the top four? Let us know in the comments
They've since got back on track with wins over Chelsea and Manchester United, but their latest reverse leaves them with no margin for error heading into the final stretch. Arteta is into his second full season at the Emirates and Neville feels as though top four failure would halt his trajectory.
He claimed: "It almost shapes his career and determines whether he is a success or not, but I think Mikel Arteta has done a very good job for Arsenal. Getting a Champions League place would mean he has won the FA Cup and taken them into the top four - he's starting to build a successful CV. If he doesn't get top four and Conte does, it will start to come down on him a little bit.
"I think he has a long career in the game, so it's not going to be dependent on what happens on Monday. But these steps up the ladder and these leg-ups that you need as a manager and these little bits of luck... We will see if Lady Luck will be on his side next week."
