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Former Arsenal defender Paul Merson has declared Tottenham's title hopes are already over and that Mauricio Pochettino's side are no longer certain for a top-three finish.

The Lilywhites are yet to show their best form in 2019/20, fighting back from behind against Aston Villa, fortunately claiming a point off Manchester City and then suffering defeat at the hands of Newcastle United.

That has left Spurs five points adrift of league leaders Liverpool at this early stage of the season and, if they suffer defeat to Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday, would sit the same figure behind their North London rivals.

As a result, Merson believes the Premier League title is out of reach and that Spurs now face being sucked into the top-four fight along with Arsenal, Manchester United and Chelsea.

"I must admit, I didn't see this coming - Tottenham losing at home to Newcastle. Spurs look in disarray, a worrying sign this early in the season," he said in his weekly Sky Sports column.

"They are out of the title race already, five points behind Liverpool with three games played. That may sound harsh, but would you back Spurs to win the league over Liverpool if Liverpool had a five-point head start?

"People go on and on about there being 35 games left but I'm fed up with that rhetoric, five points is a lot of points to make up. As a general rule, it takes five games to make up five points, Liverpool lost once last season and have won every game so far this, so where are Spurs going to bridge the gap?

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"Before a ball was kicked, I thought Spurs were a dead cert to finish in the top three, now they look in the equation for top four football after their performances.

"I rate Tottenham highly as a team - they were Champions League finalists less than three months ago after all - but they have shocked me, they have been my biggest disappointment this season so far, and I'm not just saying that because I used to play for Arsenal.

"Pochettino's comments that he has never seen so much unrest at a football club the other day were concerning and eye-opening. He doesn't normally speak so strongly, he always looks after the club's interests and gets on with the job at hand. But his comment suggests things are unravelling at the moment."