Tottenham not considering Arsenal title needs in crucial Man City clash: 'We want to win for ourselves'
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Dejan Kulusevski insists that Tottenham want to win for themselves against Manchester City and are not thinking about doing Arsenal a favour.
The Gunners are hoping City drop points at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Tuesday as they hunt their first Premier League title since 2004.
North London rivals Spurs have an outside chance of finishing in the top four, sat four points and one place behind fourth-place Aston Villa with two games to go.
Asked whether Spurs have thought about Tuesday’s ramifications for Arsenal, Kulusevski said: “No. When you play football, you want to win [for yourself], and that’s the only thing we think about.”
The Swede explained he is not giving much thought to his side’s hopes of Champions League football. “I honestly don’t watch the schedule,” he said.
“I just want to win. I know it’s an amazing game now on Tuesday against City, and my focus is on that now. If we win, then anything can happen.
“It’s going to be an amazing game because we always have good games against City. It’s a fantastic opportunity for us to play against the best. I think we will absolutely be ready.”
Spurs have been a bogey team for Pep Guardiola’s side in recent seasons, winning five of their past 10 encounters.
Following four straight league defeats that threatened to take the shine off a positive first season under Ange Postecoglou, Spurs got back to winning ways on Saturday by beating Burnley 2-1 in a game which saw the visitors relegated back to the Championship
“It’s so important”, Kulusevski said of the victory. “It’s the worst thing to lose, and when you lose one time, two times, three and four times, it gets tough. So it was very important to get the win.
“It was difficult [against Burnley] — not an easy win. We have to get better, but in the end we found the goal.”
Postecoglou believes his side can make it difficult for City on Tuesday night.
He 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 [City] and Arsenal are the benchmark of the competition right now.”
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