Arsenal Premier League title verdict as Tottenham fans face nightmare Man City scenario

Tottenham fans have already had one hell of a year supporting their club. There was the summer-long speculation over Harry Kane's future before his eventual departure to Bayern Munich, followed by a roaring start to the Premier League season which saw them undefeated and topping the table with 10 games gone.

Things haven't gone quite to plan since then, with Ange Postecoglou's exciting brand of football drawing some criticism recently following a string of consecutive defeats in the league. They currently sit fifth in the table, but have let Aston Villa get away from them in the chase for the last Champions League place and need an unlikely turnaround to finish fourth.

And that predicament has led to some Spurs fans wishing for their team to roll over in their clash against title-chasing Manchester City - in order to stop their north London rivals Arsenal picking up the trophy. The Gunners are hoping for a huge favour from their neighbours as they currently lead Pep Guardiola's side by a point - but with City having two games left to play.

You're unlikely to find many Spurs fans cheering on an Arsenal title win, and Ange Postecoglou has already had his say on wanting your own team to lose, stating: "I don't understand it, I never will."

But would the fans take a defeat against Man City if it meant avoiding an Arsenal Premier League title win? football.london finds out...

Alasdair Gold - Tottenham correspondent

This is a strange game for Spurs fans and it could provide an even stranger atmosphere at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Tuesday night.

The Tottenham fans will be torn between not wanting to help Arsenal win the Premier League title with all the bragging and crowing that would understandably bring and the desire to want their own team to succeed, with Champions League football still just about on the table.

Personally, as someone who grew up a Spurs fan, I just can't bring myself to ever want my team to lose a game of football. It just feels wrong for me, but then I'm a bit weird perhaps in that I've never been bothered about looking at other teams - even that lot down the road. All the cross-club 'banter' has never been my thing, because simply I just don't really care what others are up to. Postecoglou appears to have a similar view.

However, I completely understand that my tunnel vision is likely to place me in the minority and appreciate that for others hatred of your rivals and the need to prevent that year-long crowing from rival fans will be more important

Lee Wilmot - Head of football and Tottenham fan

Aston Villa's draw with Liverpool on Monday night makes my position on this clear - Tottenham have to win. There would have been a very slight change in my stance had Villa beaten Liverpool, but not much. Let me explain.

I am a Tottenham fan, have been all my life. I cannot bring myself, ever, to sit and watch us play football, hoping we lose. I will never, ever hope we lose a game of football.

Villa's draw with Liverpool means Champions League qualification and a fourth-placed finish is still, miraculously, on the table. My focus, first and foremost is on Spurs. Do I want Arsenal to win the title? Absolutely not. But the season should not come down to one solitary match. If Arsenal win the league, they will have (through gritted teeth) deserved it over 38 games.

If Spurs lose tonight, I will be upset that we've been beaten and we've missed out on finishing fourth and seeing Champions League football back at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium next season. If Villa had won last night and Spurs lose tonight, I would have been disappointed to lose to Manchester City, but not for too long, knowing we would have all-but stopped the Gunners winning the title in the process.

Had Villa not scored two late goals on Monday night, Spurs could have picked up a draw with City tonight and taken both the title race and the Champions League race down to a thrilling last day. That would have been the ideal outcome. Alas, I go into tonight, hoping for a Spurs win, no matter what the consequences in the other half of north London.

Kieran Horn - Football writer and Tottenham fan

From a moral standpoint, wanting Tottenham to lose should never be my favoured outcome and yet here we are. Every fibre of my being does not want to feel this way but at the end of the day I'd be lying if I said I didn't want Manchester City to win if it stopped Arsenal from winning the Premier League.

As our biggest rivals, seeing them be successful is a bitter pill to swallow and knowing we can have a say on that, indirectly by losing, fills me with guilt that I want it to happen. Postecoglou's comments on the idea of supporters wanting the club to lose makes me feel even worse but I just simply cannot get away from what a win could do.

If the gap to Aston Villa and thus finishing fourth was closer, maybe my preference would be different but ultimately we could beat City, put Arsenal in control of the title race and still miss out on Champions League football.

Currently though, my desire to deny Arsenal of success is stronger than my desire to see Spurs beat Man City. However, it must be said this Arsenal team are clearly very good and this will certainly not be the last time they are one game away from a trophy.

Thankfully, Tottenham are at least heading in the right direction under Postecoglou and with a combination of patience and pain, it could be the Lilywhites on the verge of Premier League superiority.

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