Andre Villas-Boas claimed Arsenal are in a ‘negative spiral’ after goals from Gareth Bale and Aaron Lennon gave Tottenham a 2-1 win in the north London derby, opening a seven-point lead over their arch-rivals.
The victory moved Spurs back into third in the Premier League with Arsenal fifth, five points adrift of fourth-placed Chelsea.
And Gunners boss Arsene Wenger suffered the ignominy of Spurs fans singing about how they hope he stays on at the Emirates.
Villas-Boas knows Arsenal are not out of the hunt for Champions League qualification – last year they closed a ten-point gap to finish above Spurs in third – but believes today’s result dealt Wenger’s men a massive psychological blow.
Arsenal are now five points adrift of the Champions League places (Picture: AP)
‘It shifted very, very quickly [last year], so it is not a big margin yet for us to be completely safe,’ said the Portuguese.
‘[But] it can have a direct effect on their motivation because the difference from last year is we are on an upward spiral in terms of confidence and they are in a negative spiral in terms of results – and to be out of that negative spiral is extremely difficult.’
Villas-Boas, however, is determined to retain a sense of perspective.
‘We still have some difficult games to play against big teams,’ he added.
Wenger claimed his team should have won, but acknowledged the size of the task they now face to finish in the top four.
‘It will be a massive challenge,’ he said.
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