Tottenham star admits he supports Arsenal as Mikel Arteta hopes for title favour against Man City
Tottenham Hotspur's Dejan Kulusevski, who once declared Arsenal as his favourite team, could play a crucial role in the Gunners' title race.
The Spurs winger though isn't concerned about the implications of Tuesday's clash with Manchester City on Arsenal's title hopes. A win or draw for Tottenham would put Arsenal in control of their own destiny on the season's final day.
Should City lose at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Arsenal would lead the table by a point with just one match remaining. This scenario would require the Gunners to only equal City's result on the last day to secure their first Premier League crown in 20 years.
Conversely, a draw on Tuesday would leave Arsenal and City tied on points, but the former would have the edge due to a superior goal difference. Kulusevski, who has started Tottenham's last four matches, is expected to retain his spot against City.
His past admiration for Arsenal could be a positive sign for Mikel Arteta's squad ahead of the game. While he was still at Parma, Kulusevski admitted Arsenal was his top team on the Swedish Lundh podcast.
He explained: "My favourite team is Arsenal because I like everything about the club, the city, the players and the way they play football."
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Later on, after a move to Tottenham, Kulusevski hinted at his aspiration to one day join Arsenal in another interview. He paused before saying: "There's one team I've always wanted to play for, and I think I will play there one day, but I don't want to say what team it is because it's sensitive stuff."
On Tuesday night, Gunners fans will be anxiously waiting for Spurs to do them a favour, but despite his clear admiration for Arsenal, Kulusevski appears indifferent about the outcome's wider impact. Talking about facing big teams, following Spurs' recent victory over Burnley, the Swedish star said: "It's a team [Man City] we love playing against.
"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."
His Spurs colleague, James Maddison, also shared similar sentiments: "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] is for the fans to talk about, not us players."
