WE’VE EARNED SPURS OUR
Eriksen leads the way as Tottenham insist they have come of age and are now ready to dominate Arsenal
TOTTENHAM are no longer the young pretenders.
And, before a potentially era-changing North London derby on Sunday, a host of Spurs stars insisted Mauricio Pochettino’s side have come of age and grown up into serious title candidates this season.
An eighth consecutive Premier League win took Tottenham to their highest-ever points total and still on Chelsea’s tail.
But it was the streetwise style of the victory at Selhurst Park that was so striking. The win over Sam Allardyce’s in-form side showed this is not the same naive Spurs side which ran out of steam last season.
Pochettino made two substitutions at half-time and his revitalised team took the lead through a Christian Eriksen wonder goal – and then never looked like giving up the points.
“After we scored, we showed a lot of maturity,” said Eriksen.
“We showed we are capable of keeping the ball in the corners, which, a few years ago, we wouldn’t have done. We did that against Palace and played as grown-ups. We have to become that to win anything. We are still a few points behind, but, hopefully, it will be a good last five games.”
Skipper Hugo Lloris said: “We played a very serious match. It is nice to know we can count on everybody.
“After the FA Cup defeat against Chelsea in the semi-final, we had to react and we did that.”
And Jan Vertonghen said: “Chelsea put pressure on us with their win against Southampton and everyone thinks, ‘OK, go to Palace, show us what you’ve got!’. And this is what you get. We have progressed a lot.”
Victory over Arsenal in what is probably the last North London derby to be played at White Hart Lane, would see Tottenham guaranteed to finish above their local rivals for the first time in 22 years and officially signal the shift of power.
“It is a massive game at the Lane,” said defender Toby Alderweireld.
“It is going to be a special day and it is up to us to get three points.
“Beating Arsenal to finish above them is extra motivation, but you do not need that on Sunday.”
With five games to go, the bigger prize remains the title, with Chelsea four points ahead. “We’ll keep doing what we’re doing – trying to win each match,” added Moussa Sissoko. “We’ll wait for Chelsea to make a mistake, then our job will be done.”
Arsenal have been handed a fitness boost on defender Laurent Koscielny, who has recovered after a late knee injury in Wednesday’s 1-0 win against Leicester and is expected to be fit for the clash with Spurs.