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Two Tottenham stars make feelings clear on helping Arsenal by beating Man City


Tottenham’s squad have no interest in the ramifications of their match against Manchester City for rivals Arsenal – insisting they’re solely focused on their own season. After beating Manchester United 1-0 at Old Trafford on Sunday, the Gunners are one point clear at the top of the table going into the final week of the campaign.

City have a game in hand which comes at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium tomorrow (Tuesday) night. Victory would put the reigning champions, who are chasing a fourth successive title, two clear and in control going into the final day when they face West Ham at the Etihad.

Arsenal, seeking a first title since 2004, end their season on Sunday at home to Everton. And they will be nervously hoping for a favour from their north London rivals Spurs who have won all of their four Premier League home matches against City since moving into their new stadium.

Pep Guardiola’s charges did beat Tottenham at this venue in January in the FA Cup but were held to a 3-3 draw in the reverse league fixture in Manchester this season. City are an opponent who Spurs have generally enjoyed playing against in recent seasons.

Yet Dejan Kulusevski and James Maddison have no interest in what the result means for other clubs. Instead, they say Spurs’ total focus is on their fading hopes of a top-four finish. They ideally need fourth-placed Aston Villa to lose to Liverpool tonight but a draw would also keep their ambitions alive.

Arsenal supporters were left furious after Spurs performed their lap of honour following Saturday’s win over Burnley – rather than after the match against City. And Kulusevski admitted: “It was a strange feeling but it was for the kids today because it was an afternoon game but the season is not over, absolutely not.”

Asked if any Spurs supporters had asked the team purposefully to lose to City in midweek to help ensure Arsenal do not win the league, the Swedish winger made his feelings clear. “It’s a team we love playing against,” he said.

“We love playing against the strongest teams. So it’s going to be a nice evening. The fact they leave spaces behind the backline is one thing, but there are many different things when you play against the best.”

The returning Maddison said after the 2-1 win over Burnley: “We needed a reaction after four losses. It is something a club like Tottenham should never have, four losses in a row. We had to put it right. Now we need to finish the season strongly.

“Of course we will be giving everything on Tuesday. We are professionals. The only way we can qualify for the Champions League is if we win all our games, so (helping Arsenal) that’s one for the fans to talk about, not us players.”

Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou similarly insists his side will be going out to win – even though three points for the hosts would hand Arsenal a massive chance to win the league. The Australian coach said: “I think we’ve got what it takes to make a game of it and play our football and see where that takes us.

“They’re an outstanding team and they and Arsenal are the benchmark of the competition right now. They’re 20-odd points ahead of us and we’ve got some ground to make up, but it’s at our place, it’s 95 minutes of football and we’re going to have a crack.”

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