Paul Merson has told Tottenham it is do or bust ahead of their North London derby with Arsenal on Sunday.
Spurs make the trip to the Emirates Stadium looking to make it six straight wins after making it five against Dinamo Zagreb in the Europa League on Thursday evening.
That fine run of form has seen Jose Mourinho's men return to top four contention, now within five points of Chelsea in fourth with a game in hand, at time of writing.
But having worked so hard to get back into contention, Spurs can't afford to blow it, and especially not against biggest rivals Arsenal.
That's according to pundit Merson, who believes Tottenham's top four hopes will slip away completely should they lose to Mikel Arteta's men on Sunday.
"If Spurs don't win, that's it for their top four chances. They can't afford to lose this game. One hundred per cent," he wrote in his Daily Star column.
"They've done really well to get back in the race but look how many teams are fighting for it. They have to keep winning.
"Leicester and Manchester United both had big, big wins last weekend and that's put the pressure back on the chasing pack.
"Now, Spurs have to stay in the Europa League. They might need it. It could be their best route back into the Champions League.
Speaking about Arsenal, Merson added: "For Arsenal, it's their only route. Their chances of the top four have gone in my opinion. The two games against Olympiakos are bigger for them than the north London derby - and it hurts me to say that as an ex-Arsenal player.
"If they got beat by Tottenham but still got through against Olympiakos, I don't think they would have a problem with that.
"But I still think they have a great chance of beating Spurs. Even in the games Spurs have been winning lately, they've been split open a couple of times.
"A better quality team would have hurt them. And Arsenal will have a lot of the ball in this game because Spurs like to counter-attack."
