Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur find themselves in a bizarre situation in the final week of the Premier League title race.
The two North London clubs have shared a bitter rivalry over the years, but on what is an incredibly rare occasion, Arsenal will actually be hoping Spurs win a game, with Ange Postecoglou’s side set to face Manchester City.
If Man City drop points at Spurs, it will put Arsenal in the driving seat for the Premier League title, but if Spurs drop points, it will end their chances of Champions League qualification.
Some Spurs fans are actually hoping for their team to lose, whilst Arsenal supporters, and Mesut Ozil, will be cheering on their bitter rivals, and this is not the first time this has happened.
There have been several other occasions, including at Arsenal, where fans have had to hope for their rivals to win, or their own team to lose, to stop the other from winning a title, and these have seen a whole range of different results.
Liverpool beat Blackburn in 1995 despite Manchester United title hopes
One similar scenario came on the final day in the 1994-95 Premier League season. Liverpool faced title hopefuls Blackburn Rovers at Anfield, whilst bitter rivals Manchester United faced West Ham away.
Liverpool knew that if Blackburn won, they would win the title ahead of United having gone into the game with a two point lead, and the hosts themselves were fighting for UEFA Cup qualification.
However, Liverpool went against the wishes of sections of their fanbase and beat Blackburn 2-1, with Jamie Redknapp scoring a 90th minute winner.
They did have the last laugh though, as Man United drew with West Ham, and the title went to Blackburn anyway.
Arsenal have relied on Spurs for title win before
Man United won the treble in 1999, but this could have been very different if Spurs had done their neighbours a favour.
Heading into the final day of the season, Arsenal were facing Aston Villa, whilst Man United faced Spurs. Arsene Wenger’s side beat Villa 1-0 courtesy of a goal by Nwankwo Kanu, but they were still reliant on Spurs even drawing at Old Trafford.
Spurs went 1-0 up through Les Ferdinand, but David Beckham and Andy Cole struck to give United a 2-1 win, and they won the title by one point.
Arsenal were hoping for a Spurs win for the first time, but they may have learned their lesson that their rivals simply cannot be relied upon.
Lazio enjoyed stopping Roma Serie A triumph in 2010
The Italian top flight title was a closely contested battle between Inter Milan and Roma in the 2009-10 season, with Inter eventually winning by two points en route to a treble under Jose Mourinho.
Roma chased them for most of the season, but Inter were storming to the title, and a final glimmer of hope rested as Mourinho’s side went to face Lazio at the Stadio Olimpico with just three games remaining.
Lazio and Roma share a heated rivalry, and Lazio fans knew that a win over Inter could hand Roma the title. They fell to a 2-0 defeat, and finished in mid-table, whilst Inter pipped Roma to glory, and Lazio fans were very much in favour of their own team losing.
They unfurled a banner reading “oh noo!” at their next game, mocking Roma for relying on them to win, and this went down as an iconic moment in the fierce rivalry.
River Plate handed rivals Boca Juniors the 2022 title
Argentine sides Boca Juniors and River Plate share arguably the most heated rivalry in world football, but even they found themselves in a tricky title situation in 2022.
Boca Juniors headed into the final day with their fixture against Independiente scheduled at the same time as River Plate’s trip to face Racing Club.
Racing were just behind Boca in the title race, but still had a chance of winning the league, but River stood in the way.
Boca drew their game, but astonishingly, River won in injury time against Racing, which handed Boca the title they would have otherwise thrown away had Racing won.
Despite the rivalry, River Plate fans were not too upset at the outcome. They believe that they have eternal glory over Boca, following the 2018 Copa Libertadores final in which both sides met, and they were also bidding farewell to legendary manager Marcelo Gallardo.
It was a shock at the time, but Boca were grateful that their sworn enemies had won to gift them Primera Division glory, and this may show Arsenal that the players and manager of their rivals may still have enough motivation to win the game despite the title outcome.
