Arsenal forward Kai Havertz said he will become the “biggest fan” of north London rivals Tottenham when they host Manchester City on Tuesday as the Gunners hope for a twist in the Premier League title race.
Havertz set up Leandro Trossard for the only goal in a 1-0 win at Manchester United on Sunday to take Mikel Arteta’s men top of the table by one point.
However, City still have the destiny of the title in their own hands as they have two games remaining to Arsenal’s one.
The first of those comes in midweek when Pep Guardiola’s men travel to a stadium where they have lost without scoring in each of the past four Premier League seasons.
“I am going to be the biggest fan of Tottenham ever,” said Havertz. “Let’s hope for the best!”
City have been relentless in recent weeks, winning their last seven league games to close in on an unprecedented fourth consecutive English top-flight title.
Arsenal have had to be nearly flawless themselves just to remain in the race.
They have taken 46 from the last 51 available points to register a club record 27 wins in a Premier League season.
“It is a phenomenal thing they are doing,” said Arteta.
“Winning I think encourages you to win more, to be better equipped and prepared to win in different contexts.
“Twenty-seven wins in the Premier League is the most in the history of this club. That is not progress, that is history. Big compliments to the players.”
By contrast, United are at risk of failing to qualify for European competition for just the second time since 1989/1990.
Erik ten Hag’s men sit eighth in the table, 32 points behind Arsenal, after a 19th defeat in all competitions this season.
United were at least much-improved from a 4-0 thrashing at Crystal Palace on Monday.
And Ten Hag again pointed to a lengthy injury list as mitigation for his side’s struggles this season.
Captain Bruno Fernandes, Marcus Rashford, Raphael Varane, Lisandro Martinez, Luke Shaw and Harry Maguire were among those missing from the United squad.
“It’s like trying to swim with your hands tied behind your back,” said Ten Hag.
“If you want to progress a team, you need fit players. You see that in the team we played today.”
United, who have never finished lower than seventh in the Premier League era, trail Newcastle and Chelsea by three points with two games remaining.
Failure to finish in the top seven or win the FA Cup final against Manchester City will see United miss out on Europe completely.
“(It is) very damaging (to not qualify for Europe) but that is the situation we are in,” added Ten Hag.
“When you analyse the performance you have to see that we were competitive.
“Not the way we want, United have to win, always! But at this moment as a club and this team, with all the injuries we have, we are not in this position.”
