Antonio Conte says top four is 'life changing' for Tottenham as they battle Arsenal for Champions League
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Updated 14/04/2022 at 16:02 GMT
Tottenham have won their last four games in a row to move into pole position in the battle for fourth place in the Premier League ahead of Arsenal. Spurs are looking to qualify for the Champions League for the first time since the 2019/20 season and are three points ahead of the Gunners. Manager Antonio Conte says it's "very important" to finish in the top four.
'Champions League changes your life' - Conte on importance of top four finish
Antonio Conte believes qualifying for the Champions League would be “life changing” for Tottenham.
Spurs will be seeking a fifth victory in a row when they host Brighton in the early game on Saturday.
Their winning streak has seen them move up to fourth in the Premier League, three points ahead of Arsenal, having played a game more.
Spurs have not played in the Champions League since the 2019/20 season.
"The Champions League is a competition that every club, every player, every manager wants to play and for this reason it's important to have this great goal,” said Spurs manager Conte.
"[It] changes your life if next season you are going to play in the Champions League, instead of playing UEFA [Europa] League, [Europa] Conference League or nothing.
"This situation has to give us a great push, a great desire to finish the season in the best possible way.
"The team is ready to fight until the end in this race. This race is not easy. It's very, very important to finish in the top four in England because it means that you have reached a great result for the club.
"Yesterday and two days ago we watched how important it is to play in the Champions League and how fascinating these type of games [are]. I'm sure that in my players there is a great desire to be protagonists in this competition.
"But we know very well that there are other teams that are really strong - Arsenal, [Manchester] United, West Ham, Wolverhampton - that they are in the same race with us, but we want to fight until the end and we'll see what happens at the end of the season."
Spurs have seven games left to play and look to be in pole position to qualify for the Champions League ahead of Arsenal.
The north London rivals meet on May 12 and Spurs also face a trip to Liverpool on May 7.
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"It's an important moment,” said Conte.
“There are not many left to play and every game has to be a final. The importance of the game brings more pressure - that has to be normal for a club like Tottenham.
"The Champions League is a competition that every club, every player and every manager wants to play in. It can change your life.
"We are showing that we are coping very well with this pressure and now we have to continue to play a good game."
Conte tested positive for Covid-19 after last weekend’s win over Aston Villa and has been social distancing during training.
He is, though, hoping to be on the sideline for the game against Brighton.
“I attended the training session, but from distance," he said.
“I had my staff and they did a really good job. A day after the game against Aston Villa I started to feel mild symptoms, a bit of a pain in my throat and I asked for a Covid test, and it was positive, but now I'm fine and well.
"This week was a strange week for me and also for the players because the players are used to having training sessions with me and not only with my staff, but it's okay because my staff are doing a great job.
"I think on Saturday I [can] stay on my place on the bench, and given the length of time since my Covid test, I think that I could stay on the bench on Saturday."
Arsenal travel to Southampton on Saturday afternoon so could be six points behind Spurs by the time they kick-off.
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