Harry Redknapp has warned of a tough season next year for Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal.
Both sides have been in mixed form since the Premier League restart and find themselves in mid-table rather than pushing for a Champions League spot.
Redknapp says that the competition for a top-four spot is tougher than ever and that both Spurs and Arsenal will struggle to bridge the gap next season.
Speaking on talkSPORT, the former Spurs boss said: "You look at Spurs going forward, like Arsenal, are those two teams going to be in the top four next year?
"I see Man City and Liverpool as the top two, then you’ve got Man United and Chelsea, you’ve got teams emerging like Wolves.
"I don’t see it for them next year, it’s going to be tough again for the two clubs in north London."
After Spurs' defeat to Sheffield United in midweek, Redknapp argued that the club have taken a huge step backwards in the last two years.
"Tottenham have gone backwards a million miles," he said.
"You look at where they are now to where they were a couple of years ago, when Kyle Walker and Danny Rose were in form at full-back and Christian Eriksen was in great form, Mousa Dembele with him in midfield and Dele Alli was absolutely fantastic…
"They’re nowhere near that now.
"They finished above Liverpool two or three years ago when they finished second to Leicester, and suddenly Liverpool bought a couple of top players in, a great goalkeeper and a great centre-half and they’re pushed on to become champions and Tottenham have gone exactly the opposite way.
"They got to the Champions League final last year, which was obviously a great achievement, but their league form was average for a long period. They averaged about a point a game for 25 games, which is relegation form.
"It hasn’t really improved."
