Gareth Bale believes Tottenham have overtaken Arsenal as better side

Tottenham star Gareth Bale has claimed Spurs are now a better side than Arsenal after overtaking their fierce rivals in the quality stakes.

Free role

Bale, who established himself as a left winger at Spurs in recent seasons after moving from left-back, is enjoying the increased freedom being given to him by Villas-Boas this term. He added: "Since I moved position over the last couple of years I've been getting double-marked on the left so it's been frustrating. "Now I've been able to come inside with this free role and it's enabled me to enjoy my football, have more space and be able to do more things. "All great players have had to evolve their games. When people become aware of you they try to stop the ball getting to you and double up on you. "You always want to improve your game anyway and this has forced me to do so. It's been a challenge, I really enjoy doing it and I think I'm seeing the rewards now. "I think the manager has to take a bit of credit. By giving me that free role he's given me the confidence to do what I'm doing now. "I just want to keep doing it and keep learning. Hopefully there's still more to come."