Former Tottenham Hotspur player Jamie O’Hara fears a past bet will come back to haunt him after admitting arch-rivals Arsenal “look a bit more special” this season.
The Gunners enter the new year seven points clear of Manchester City after a 4-2 win over Brighton at the AMEX Stadium on Saturday.
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Arsenal look like the real deal this season
AFP
The Gunners are seven points clear at the top of the table and look like good value for a title push
The result also put Mikel Arteta’s side 13 points clear of fifth-placed Spurs to give their Champions League hopes a major boost.
One man who doesn’t like to see the ball fly high is former Tottenham star O’Hara, who has confidently declared his beloved club will finish above Arsenal this term.
“Spurs will finish above Arsenal,” O’Hara said back in August, prompting former Aston Villa striker Gabi Agbonlahor to say: “I’ll make you a bet.
“The bet is if Spurs finish above Arsenal I have to wear a Leeds United shirt for at least five games. If Arsenal finish above Spurs, you have to wear an Arsenal shirt for five games.”
It’s been almost five months and you can tell O’Hara is getting a little worried.
After seeing Arsenal ensure they would see out the New Year with a solid lead at the top of the Premier League, O’Hara said: “I’ll have to wear that Arsenal shirt, won’t I? I feel it coming!
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Arteta is building something very special, according to O’Hara
“They are flying high at the top of the table, can they really win it?
“Now they’re seven points clear, the fact is they can afford to lose to Man City and still win the league – that’s the scary thing!”
“The thing we always see with Arsenal is when you have a game like this, you go to Brighton and they can struggle, they can be bullied, they won’t.
“But fair play to Arsenal, they are playing great football.
“Look at them now and Odegaard, what a player he has become, a top player. They just look like a finished country.
“The title is there for them now. They have the bite between their teeth, they have the confidence, they have that faith.
“Something is going on there for sure. They look a little special.
“It will certainly be difficult to watch as a Spurs fan. Every time I watch Arsenal I say to myself, “Someone just beat this team!”
“It pains me to say it, but it’s actually very difficult for me not to enjoy watching this Arsenal team play. They are so good.”
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O’Hara has agreed to wear an Arsenal shirt for five games if they finish above Spurs
Despite the good position, Arsenal boss Arteta, whose side host third-placed Newcastle on Tuesday, said his side were not getting carried away.
“There’s still a long, long time to go,” he said of the title race.
“My excitement comes when I go into the dressing room and the players talk about what they should have done better today.
“And that means they know we can still play better and be better, and against Newcastle we have to be better.
“(It was) a big win, really happy, really tough place to come.”
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