How soon can Tottenham ensure they finish above Arsenal in the Premier League?
Spurs have not finished above their North London rivals for 21 years
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Your support makes all the difference.St Totteringham’s Day. A fictional event which has long provided Arsenal supporters with ridiculous amounts of mirth as they mark the day Tottenham Hotspur can mathematically no longer catch the Gunners in a league season. The date has occurred in each of the last 20 seasons – Spurs last finishing above their North London rivals back in 1995, pre-Arsene Wenger – but this season appears to finally be the year when those of a Lilywhite persuasion can earn some retribution.
Following Sunday’s 1-1 draw with Crystal Palace at the Emirates, Arsenal now sit five points behind Tottenham, having played the same number of games and with five matches each remaining. Having come ever closer in recent seasons to overhauling the men in red but never quite fulfilling that promise – including final day heartbreak in 2006, 2010, 2012 and 2013 – Mauricio Pochettino could become the first Tottenham manager since Gerry Francis to achieve a league finish above Arsenal
How soon can it happen?
Victory at Stoke on Monday would take them eight points above Arsenal having played a game more. Should the Gunners then lose at home to West Bromwich (on Thursday) and at Sunderland (on Sunday), victory in their own home match against West Bromwich, next Monday (25 April), would give Tottenham an unassailable lead over their hated rivals from down the Seven Sisters Road and bragging rights for the first time in a generation. Even a draw would probably suffice for Spurs on Monday, given their vastly superior goal difference.
What if Arsenal go on a winning run?
If Arsenal were to return to form and win their remaining five matches, Tottenham would have to gain at least 11 points from their remaining games. Four straight wins for Spurs – culminating in victory over Southampton on the penultimate weekend (Sunday 8 May) – would take them unassailably clear of Arsenal, who visit Manchester City later that afternoon.
Supporters have been divided on social media as to how to mark the occasion, should it occur. Some have called for mock funerals for St Totteringham’s Day to be held on the streets of North London and for parties to take place, while others have preferred to overlook the thing entirely, concentrating on a future that looks increasingly bright for Tottenham and frustratingly familiar for Arsenal. One thing is for sure, whether they admit it in public or not, those with a cockerel on their chest would feel a sense of pride at ending a 21-year hoodoo.
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