Wayne Rooney predicts where Arsenal and Tottenham will finish
Wayne Rooney explains why he's tipping Tottenham Hotspur to finish above Arsenal in the Premier League table this season
Wayne Rooney is tipping Tottenham Hotspur to finish above Arsenal in fourth place in the Premier League this season.
The Gunners suffered a blow to their hopes of sealing Champions League qualification on Monday night when they were comprehensively beaten by Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park.
Goals from Jean-Philippe Mateta, Jordan Ayew and Wilfried Zaha’s penalty secured the three points for Patrick Vieira’s side and left Arsenal outside of the top four.
As things stand, Spurs are currently level on points with their north London rivals – but the Lilywhites are in fourth place on goal difference, with Arsenal having played one game less than Antonio Conte’s team.
However, despite the Gunners having the advantage of having played one game less than their derby rivals, former Manchester United and England star Rooney claims that Spurs now have the “upper hand” in the race to secure qualification for Europe’s elite club competition.
Speaking on Sky Sports’ Monday Night Football, Rooney said when asked who he thinks will finish fourth: “I think it’s Arsenal or Tottenham, it’s between the two of them.
“I look at Manchester United’s form of late, I don’t think they’re going to challenge for it.
“It’s between Tottenham and Arsenal and I think Tottenham have got the experience in the squad, I give them the upper hand.
“It’s almost like no one wants that fourth place, I think that’s the inconsistency of the teams below Manchester City and Liverpool.
“I think they’ve set the marker, they’re two incredible teams who perform every week, and the teams below them, Chelsea, Manchester United, Arsenal and Tottenham, they are a little bit inconsistent and that shows in their league position.”
Arsenal must now dust themselves down as they prepare for their home clash against Brighton and Hove Albion on Saturday afternoon.
Reflecting on his side’s position in the table after the game, Gunners boss Mikel Arteta said: “We’ve got a game in hand still and we need to play.
“We know that with nine games a lot of things are going to happen, we have to play each other and we have to play some big games coming up.
“We have to focus on ourselves and the problem that we had today is not Spurs, it was us and what we did in the first half.”
