Harry Redknapp is confident that Tottenham Hotspur can finish in the top four this season despite being brushed aside by Arsenal on Saturday.

Tottenham’s 3-0 defeat at the Emirates Stadium means they have already lost heavily to three of the clubs who finished in the Champions League places last season.

“I still think we can get into the Champions League,” the manager said. “When Luka Modric and Aaron Lennon are fit and Jermain Defoe is available again after his suspension, we have a terrific team.

“People will question us getting into the Champions League but it’s nice proving people wrong in life. I’m not giving up on the Champions League, it’s not impossible, it’s all about a couple of points. Chelsea and Manchester United are the strongest teams but I would not write off Arsenal, Liverpool or Villa or Man City. It’s tight, [the top four] will be a good scrap this year between six or seven teams.”

Tottenham are fifth in the Barclays Premier League and Defoe returns from a three-match ban to face Sunderland on Saturday but Modric is several weeks from fitness and Sébastien Bassong will be out for four or five weeks with a hamstring injury suffered on Saturday.

Robin van Persie scored twice to take his tally for the season to eight goals in all competitions. The Arsenal forward clearly relishes the rivalry with Tottenham. “It always feels good to beat Spurs,” he said. “It even feels good when we don’t play them and they get beaten, so it’s especially good when we’ve played them.”

Arsène Wenger believes that Van Persie, deployed centrally, can become the most prolific striker in the division. “He has much more responsibility because he plays up front and I think he has committed himself to the club for a long period,” the Arsenal manager said. “He is 26 years old, he is at an age where a football player becomes really efficient, mature and wants to win things.

“That is why I believe he can be the best passer in the league and be the best goalscorer in the league. When you look at the goals he has scored it is already impressive but he was quite frustrated because he missed chances. For me, the most important thing is that he creates chances.”

Asked if Van Persie could score 25 goals this season, Wenger said: “I do not want to set concrete targets but, why not? If you look at the chances since the beginning of the season, you cannot say he will not reach it.”

The Holland forward’s team-mate, Nicklas Bendtner, will be out for a month after picking up a groin injury on Saturday.

Redknapp dismissed the suggestion from Glenn Hoddle, working at the game as a television pundit, that Tottenham lack the toughness necessary to crack the top four. “My team don’t lack fight,” he said. “I remember getting criticised by a couple of ex-players last year when we were beaten by Manchester United but after that we went on a great run.”

Redknapp also played down an incident with an Arsenal fan during the game. “There was one guy behind me who would not stop swearing so I just asked a steward to have a word with him because there were kids near by,” he said. “He was a mug, the geezer.”