Gary Neville has revealed whether he thinks Tottenham Hotspur will try to beat Manchester City on Tuesday.
It is a testament to the heated rivalry between Tottenham and Arsenal that such a question is even being posed.
Dejan Kulusevski was keen on his Spurs side testing themselves against Manchester City, who alongside the Gunners, he views as the “benchmark” in the Premier League.
Neville shares how Tottenham will approach Man City game
William Saliba was also vocal about how he has no doubts that Tottenham will try to trounce City.
After Aston Villa’s 3-3 draw against Liverpool on Monday, the Lilywhites are five points behind them, with two games to spare.
Spurs’ chances of getting Champions League football seem minimal but not enough for them to consider their upcoming game meaningless.
Gary Neville has rubbished the idea that Tottenham will hand Manchester City the chance to beat them on a plate.
On Sky Sports, Neville said: “Honestly, football players don’t go out on a football pitch to lose football matches. Honestly, they don’t. We [Manchester United] had the ultimate scenario, going back, I think it was nearly 30 years [ago].”
“Blackburn went to Liverpool. Liverpool are Manchester United’s arch rivals. Blackburn were beaten by Liverpool. They beat them 2-1 and we didn’t do our job at West Ham that day. Liverpool turned up. Tottenham will turn up tomorrow, they might not win.”
The pundit continued: “But this idea that they’re not going to turn up, they’re going to sort of let Manchester City win the league, it’s absolute nonsense. That’s never happened in this league. This league does have integrity around these games.”
Gary Neville recalled how Queens Park Rangers gave Manchester City a game in their unforgettable 3-2 defeat in 2012 as he expects Tottenham to do the same.
“Do you remember the game on the last day of the season for Manchester City about 10 years ago when [Sergio] Aguero scored? They were playing QPR. And you never would have imagined that would have happened in that game. It’s unbelievable.”
If Manchester City easily defeat Tottenham, the theory posed by Gary Neville will be questioned.
But ultimately, a dominant display where City end up beating Spurs will come down to their brilliance as opposed to their opponents’ lack of desire.