LONDON: With north London rivals Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal neck and neck, the fight for Champions League qualification looks like being as hard fought as the title race in the English Premier League.

Tottenham’s superior attacking power might yet prove decisive in the final stretch.

Out of nowhere, Antonio Conte’s team are the highest-scoring team in the league in 2022 with 30 goals in 13 games after overwhelming Newcastle United to win 5-1 on Sunday.

It lifted Spurs above Arsenal into fourth place, the final qualification spot for the Champions League, but only on goal difference. Arsenal have two games in hand.

“Now I have had five or six months to work and bring my idea of football and mentality,” said Conte, who replaced Nuno Espirito Santo as manager in November. “This league is very difficult but to play against us is not easy in this moment.”

With Ben Davies, Matt Doherty, Son Heung-min, Emerson Royal and substitute Steven Bergwijn scoring, the big surprise was that in-form striker Harry Kane didn’t get in on the act.

Fourth place might not be the ceiling for Tottenham and Arsenal, who have only the Premier League to focus on. Chelsea are only five points ahead in third and has to juggle playing in the Champions League and FA Cup over the next month, too.

None of them will get close to catching Manchester City and Liverpool, the top two teams who are separated by one point with eight games left.

“It’s very difficult to be in the race for the Champions League. We want to stay there until the end. We have to continue to play this way with intensity,” Conte said. “I’m very happy. I was happy before the international break. I said it was a pity we had to stop. I asked my players today to start in the same way we left.”

Newcastle snatched the lead against the run of play in the 39th minute when Fabian Schar’s free-kick from the edge of the area caught Hugo Lloris unsighted as it evaded the Tottenham keeper’s weak attempted save.

But Tottenham were level four minutes later as Son’s teasing cross was glanced home by Davies from six yards for his first Premier League goal since 2017.

Kane was the provider when Tottenham moved ahead in the 48th minute, the England captain whipping over a fine cross that Doherty stooped to head in from close range.

Needing another goal to overtake Arsenal, Conte’s men struck again six minutes later as Kane’s pass picked out Dejan Kulusevski and his cross was slotted in by Son for his 15th goal this season.

Emerson bagged his first Tottenham goal with a close-range finish from Doherty’s cross in the 63rd minute before Bergwijn came off the bench to drill home with seven minutes left.

Published in Dawn, April 5th, 2022