If tomorrow’s clash does indeed turn out to be the last north London derby at Tottenham Hotspur’s historic White Hart Lane stadium, the stakes could hardly be higher for the protagonists.
Tottenham, who are expected to announce this week that they will definitely move to Wembley next season while their new stadium is completed, will finish above Arsenal for the first time in 22 years with victory over Arsene Wenger’s Gunners.
Mauricio Pochettino’s vibrant young side have grander ambitions though, and first and foremost in their minds will be keeping alive their hopes of a first English league title since the club’s glory days in 1961.
Should Chelsea fail to win at Everton in Sunday’s earlier match, Tottenham could conceivably be top of the table before Chelsea play again if they beat Arsenal and follow that with victory at West Ham United next Friday.
“The possibility of finishing above Arsenal is not a motivation or a distraction,” Pochettino said after his side beat in-form Crystal Palace to narrow the gap on Chelsea to four points on Wednesday.
“We are just focusing on trying to beat Arsenal. What happens at the end of the season. We have five games ahead, a very exciting period, and an exciting weekend ahead.”
While Arsenal would dearly love to scupper Tottenham’s title bid, they too have more pressing concerns, namely trying to qualify for a 20th consecutive Champions League campaign.
Wenger’s sixth-placed side secured a late 1-0 win over Leicester City on Wednesday to move four points behind fourth-placed Manchester City and three behind Manchester United before Thursday’s Manchester derby.
Comments