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Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal continue, we are told, to struggle in the Premier League.

Take Spurs as a key example. In their last 10 games, they have been beaten six times, by AFC Bournemouth, West Ham United, Manchester City, Liverpool, Southampton and Chelsea. They have drawn with the Gunners and beaten Brighton & Hove Albion, Huddersfield Town and Crystal Palace. They have scored 10 goals and conceded 10. They are now fourth.

In fifth place, the Gunners have lost four of their last 10 and three of those have come in their last four outings, against Leicester City, Wolves and Crystal Palace. The other defeat came against Everton. They have won four games, however, beating Watford, Newcastle United, Manchester United and AFC Bournemouth. They have scored 15 goals and conceded 13. Their record is, undoubtedly, better than Spurs’, with whom they drew in March.

Both sides, though, are in patchy form and, as it stands, Arsenal are almost certain to miss out on qualification for the Champions League. Their 1-1 draw with Brighton & Hove Albion ensured that, unless Spurs lose to Everton and the Gunners beat Burnley, with an eight-goal swing involved, the Gunners will not be finishing in the top four.

There is an ongoing joke that nobody actually wants to finish in the top-four, such has been the form of the clubs attempting to do so. Chelsea, too, have been frustratingly inconsistent. Prior to their 3-0 win over Watford at the weekend, they had been on a three-game winless run, having been beaten by Liverpool and drawing with both Burnley and Manchester United.

And yet all three clubs are European semi-finalists. Spurs will qualify for the Champions League final if they beat Ajax in Amsterdam. Arsenal lead Valencia 3-1 in their Europa League semi-final, while Chelsea drew with Eintracht Frankfurt in their first leg; they could play each other in the final.

All three teams, then, are clearly talented, and yet they cannot pull it all together in the league. Perhaps that is down to the absolutely relentless pace at the top.

With Pep Guardiola in charge of Manchester City and Jurgen Klopp at the helm of Liverpool, we have been conditioned to expect the very best from every single team in the Premier League. They have lost five games between them this season. They have amassed 95 and 94 points respectively. In most seasons prior, the Premier League would be over and done with, the champions already crowned.

City and Liverpool have scored 91 goals and 87 goals respectively. They have both conceded 22. Across their last 10 games, City have taken 30 points. They have scored 17 times and conceded just twice. Liverpool, meanwhile, have won nine, drawn one, scored 28 goals and let in just seven.

This is an incredible pace that is simply impossible to keep up with. Spurs briefly flirted with the title race but then injuries took hold and the lack of squad depth came home to roost. Chelsea and Arsenal were never in it.

But the perceptions of the three clubs has been skewed by the incredible seasons being enjoyed by the top two.

There has often been something of a mini-league below the top six to be “the best of the rest”. Wolves are on track to win that crown this season, having taken 57 points from 37 games. They remain nine behind Manchester United and 10 off Arsenal. But there is also now a mini-league being established below the top two, with clubs almost vying to be the Atletico Madrid to City’s Barcelona and Liverpool’s Real Madrid.

There is a duopoly being established and it eschews everything we know about the Premier League: the unpredictability, the dropped points, the fact that there simply isn’t an easy game.

Spurs, Arsenal and Chelsea are all fine sides but they are swimming upstream. This is best evidenced by their progress in Europe.

Mauricio Pochettino’s men beat Inter Milan and drew with Barcelona in the group stages, then thumped Borussia Dortmund 4-0 on aggregate and beat City on away goals in the quarter-final. Arsenal beat Sporting Lisbon in the Europa League groups, staged a brilliant comeback against Rennes to win 4-3 on aggregate and kept two clean sheets against an impressive Napoli side. Chelsea have negotiated tricky ties with Slavia Prague and Dynamo Kyiv, beating the latter 8-0 on aggregate.

These are no also-rans. Two of the three could end the season as European champions. It is perhaps ironic that, if Spurs do it, they will have achieved what both Liverpool and City could not.

But the Reds and the Sky Blues are setting unrealistic expectations for fans at home. In Europe, all three are flying.

And perhaps that is where their seasons should be judged.