On the London Underground there is a saying which has become synonymous with any tourist visit to the British capital.

"Mind the Gap".

It's up there with the Queen, a wonderfully indulgent cream tea, Beefeaters outside the Tower of London and all those quintessentially English pastimes which tend to draw those flocking from overseas.

It is a saying which has been emblazoned across numerous t-shirts and posters, while children on the underground seem to delight in repeating the famous phrase.

But now, in London at least, those three words have been hijacked by the supporters of Tottenham and Arsenal, who will now no doubt continue to mock each other until the end of the season.

Following Tottenham's 2-1 win over its city rival Sunday, the "gap" is seven points with Andre Villas-Boas' side now occupying third place and more importantly, a qualification spot for next year's Champions League.

But Arsenal has been here before. Last season, Tottenham blew a 10-point advantage to allow its fiercest foe to take third spot and a place in Europe's elite competition.

Before Arsenal's astonishing comeback, which followed the 5-2 thrashing of Tottenham just over a year ago, it was those dressed in the blue and white which sang merrily about minding the gap.

It was a song they would come to regret as Arsenal grew in strength while Spurs faltered, eventually leading to Harry Redknapp's exit and the failure to reach the promised land of the Champions League.

But a year in football is a long time -- just ask Villas-Boas.

A year ago Monday, the man known as "AVB" was sent packing from Chelsea with his reputation in ruin.

Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich had paid $20 million to take the young Portuguese coach from Porto to Stamford Bridge less than 10 months earlier.

But his spell in charge proved a disaster, leaving the club on the brink of exit from the Champions League, out of the Premier League title race and facing humiliation.

Vilified for his team selections, his unorthodox style of crouching on the touchline and man-management skills, he was seen as "Mourinho-lite" and simply not in the same class as the "Special One."

But a year on since leaving west London, Villas-Boas is steadily building a team bursting with potential, led by the ever improving Gareth Bale.

It was Bale, of course, who proved the man for the occasion, firing Tottenham ahead eight minutes before the break with a coolly taken finish -- his 20th of the season.

With nine goals in his past seven club games, Bale continues to astound, rightly or wrongly allowing comparisons with Cristiano Ronaldo and Leo Messi to gather pace.

While his imperious run of form has been a joy for Tottenham supporters, it is also the new found steel which has been lacking in the past, which has made this side a far more accomplished proposition.

Once Aaron Lennon had added a second less than two minutes after Bale's opener, Arsenal was facing an uphill struggle.

Suddenly that gap was increasing and Arsenal's apathetic attitude to defending gave little to suggest that anything but a widening chasm between the two clubs.

Now unbeaten in 12 league games, Tottenham deserves to be taken seriously.

"Forever in our shadow" was what Arsenal fans used to chant at their rivals -- and with justification following its domination of north London since Wenger's arrival.

In fact, not since 1995 has Tottenham finished above Arsenal in England's top division, a statistic which will surely be consigned to history at the end of the current campaign.

Yes, Arsenal did find a route back into the game after the interval when Bale inadvertently directed Per Mertesacker's header into his own net.

But Tottenham, marshaled by Michael Dawson and Jan Vertonghen, held out comfortably to claim a crucial victory in their quest for the Champions League and the domination of north London.