Spurs fans serenade Gareth Bale while they still can Gareth Bale's shots on goal have alternately been labelled laser beams, rockets or rips. His left foot has been described as sweet or magical or masterful. And his recent run of success has inspired heady comparisons to Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo or, in one particularly creative turn of phrase in a British newspaper, a "mild-mannered bank clerk who goes to war and returns a hero." Hyperbole will never be an issue for English soccer observers, but this level of hysteria is relatively new for Bale, the Tottenham Hotspur wing whose dramatic finishes have captivated YouTube followers and elevated him from a garden-variety star to the most talked about player in the world. Suddenly, Bale is everywhere: on highlight shows, in constant rumours about big-money transfers and, hilariously, on a variety of graphic T-shirts sold near the club's stadium, White Hart Lane, including one featuring a picture of Bale's face above the words "He Scores When He Wants." At this point, that sentiment does not seem so far-fetched. Bale scored again here Sunday, his 20th goal of the season in all competitions, and ninth in seven games, as Tottenham defeated Arsenal, 2-1, in the North London derby. The victory pushed Spurs into third place in the Premier League, two points behind second-place Manchester City, two ahead of fourth-place Chelsea and - most pointedly for Tottenham fans, who have endured nearly 20 years of looking up at Arsenal in the standings - seven points above the flailing Gunners. Indeed, life has rarely been better for Spurs and their fans. But even as a return to the Champions League next season seems all but certain, the double-edged reality of being Tottenham - and not, say, Real Madrid or Manchester United - means there will always be a lingering question: How long can it last? This is the reality of European soccer. Any time a megastar like Bale emerges on a non-megasized club, speculation about the eventual sale of that star inevitably pops up with the frequency of rain clouds over Britain. Bale, 23, has been linked to Real Madrid - who are roughly the George Steinbrenner New York Yankees of Europe - and if Madrid offers a transfer fee of, say, £70-million (about $105-million U.S.), it may be difficult for Tottenham to refuse. "He won't spend his entire career at Tottenham," said Stewart Robson, a former English league player who now works as an analyst for ESPN UK. I think he will stay for another season. But it is difficult to see him playing forever with Tottenham. Tottenham will always be a club that has to sell its very best players. Certainly there are plenty at Tottenham who hope that will change. Manager Andre Villas-Boas reiterated Sunday how critical it was that Spurs hold on to their Champions League spot, in large part because it would be symbolic of how "this club is taking massive steps," he said. Roughly translated, that means that while Spurs does not have the Monopoly money of league rivals like Chelsea or Manchester City, it still considers itself a major player. Consistently competing in the Champions League, then, dovetails with Tottenham's investment in a state-of-the-art training facility and, eventually, a new stadium. It also means the club will strive to keep players like Bale, who transformed a pedestrian first half Sunday when he slipped through the porous Arsenal defence and artfully flicked a shot - with his favoured left foot, of course - past the goalkeeper for the game's first goal. White Hart Lane exploded, and while Bale was not necessarily Tottenham's best player Sunday (defender Jan Vertonghen was incredibly stout as Arsenal pressed late), he remains at the heart of the club's resurgence. Despite Arsenal Manager Arsène Wenger's pre-match claim that "we don't plan for anybody" - an assertion that seemed a bit dismissive considering Bale's recent play - the truth is that opponents now have to account for Bale in a way that is especially challenging. According to Robson, a main attribute that separates Bale is his ability to move slickly with the ball. Bale is often compared with Arsenal's young star Theo Walcott - who played with Bale when they were teenagers at Southampton - but Robson said the major difference was that "Walcott is quick without the ball; Bale is quick with it. That makes him a far superior player. Then there is Bale's shooting. As he displayed with a thunderous volley in the second half (an attempt that burrowed straight into the goalkeeper's belly), Bale is adept at pairing power with precision, keeping his shots on goal as opposed to watching them fly over the crossbar. Like many top players, including Ronaldo, he is most skilled with a still ball. His best effort surely came last week when he drilled a free kick into the net in the final minute to secure a victory over West Ham, then sprinted to the sideline to leap into the arms of his manager. On Sunday, he had a similar reaction after the final whistle, capping a day by taking part in a rousing teamwide celebration in front of the Spurs fans. "We want to be back in the Champions League and that showed in our celebrations afterward," Tottenham's captain, Michael Dawson, said. They want Bale with them, too. New York Times News Service