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Harry Redknapp must have wondered what two of his most experienced players were thinking of when they commented to the press last week that Tottenham's squad was on a par with rivals Arsenal.
Firstly Peter Crouch hinted the gap was closer than ever before and then Robbie Keane insisted they had a group of players to compete with their neighbours.
Strangely they made these comments knowing that Jemaine Defoe, Aaron Lennon and Luka Modric would all be missing for last Saturday's north London derby. A repeat of last year's 4-4 was always unlikely but both sides are attacking by nature so an open game was expected and for 40 minutes of the first half it was reasonably well balanced.
However, the game changed when Van Persie managed to get in front of Ledley King and slot home a Sagna cross in the 42nd minute. If that had not disrupted Redknapp's half time team talk enough, what happened next must have sent his mood into as dark a place as any manager on Saturday.
Straight from the kick-off Palacios gave the ball away to Cesc Fabregas who strolled through an on-looking Spurs defence and slotted past Gomes to put Arsenal 2-0 up.
It was a devastating blow and they never looked the same side again and it was no surprise to see Van Persie stretch the lead to 3-0 early on in the second half after more disappointing defending.
Spurs have now been beaten 3-0 by both Arsenal and Chelsea and 3-1 by Manchester United and any thoughts of breaking into the top four seem a long way away. Only the weakness of Liverpool gives them any hope and another loss for the Merseyside team on Saturday at Fulham confirms this to the chasing pack.
Whilst Keane may have thought that the squad was as close to matching Arsenal as they have ever been, until they start performing on a consistent level it is best to keep one's own counsel. It is now 20 games since Tottenham beat Arsenal so even if they had won on Saturday it would hardly constitute a change in the balance of power.
The statistics are even bleaker when you consider that Wenger has seen off 13 managers at White Hart Lane, Saturday's win was his 1,000th Premier League point and his team have qualified for 13 straight Champions League tournaments not to mention the trophies he has won. A Carling Cup aside, Spurs have achieved very little so comparisons are a long way off at this stage.
This is not to suggest that Tottenham are not heading in the right direction as they are certainly making progress since Redknapp's arrival last year when they were languishing at the bottom of the league.
The Stoke game apart, when they did everything but win the game, they have managed to see off teams outside the top four comfortably which is a vast improvement on last year. Given that they are short of beating the top clubs it will be games against the likes of Aston Villa and Manchester City that will really give an indication of where they actually are in terms of the Premiership pecking order.
These games, along with an away match at Goodison Park will take place before Christmas so by then Tottenham's progress can be more accurately assessed.
Arsenal, meanwhile, are turning things around after both the Manchester defeats earlier in the season and they are fast becoming title challengers to both United and Chelsea. In Van Persie they have as exciting a forward as any in the league and in Andrey Arshavin they have a creative midfielder that would get into any side in the world. If both stay fit then Arsenal will always score goals and now Wenger has sorted his central defence out they are looking a very good side.
With a game in hand they are five points behind Chelsea and three behind United and the gap between these sides and the chasing pack, including Liverpool, is likely to be extended over the coming weeks. Expect by Christmas that it will be a three horse race and any title pretentions the likes of Tottenham have will be well and truly extinguished.
