Spurs of the moment

TOTTENHAM HAVE A BIG ROLE TO PLAY IN TITLE

MAN WITH THE PLAN: Ange Postecoglou after the draw with Arsenal in September

IF YOU had told Tottenham fans that they would play a massive part in the title race they would have bitten your hands off.

To be fair they have had a solid season, particularly on the back of Harry Kane leaving and the untested Ange Postecoglou coming in.

Of course, their role in the runin is to play all three teams at the top. And there are still three sides in the battle for the Premier League.

If Spurs beat Arsenal at home tomorrow and also see off Manchester City on their own patch, but lose to Liverpool at Wembley, then it still might be Jurgen Klopp’s fantastic farewell.

Dent

That is to come, though. For now it is all about the North London derby and how Tottenham fans would love to put a dent in their great rivals’ hopes.

Arsenal have bounced back from defeat to Aston Villa — dispelling the nonsense about how they are bottlers for losing to a good Villa side — to beat Wolves and Chelsea and they can sense the finish line now.

With Bournemouth and Everton to come at home they should take six points there, so the challenge comes tomorrow and when they go to Manchester United — another side that traditionally love to put one over Arsenal.

The first derby earlier in the season was a fantastic match, but one that left Mikel Arteta fuming with his side as they gained a two-one lead only to throw it away immediately as the game ended 2-2.

Freedom

With games against Sheffield United and Burnley to come, Spurs know that those six points will probably be enough to secure them a top-five place given United’s inconsistency.

That makes this a complete free shot for Spurs and given that they already play with a marvellous freedom, that makes them dangerous.

Yet, although I am not a massive believer in using bare stats, the fact remains that Arsenal have