I’D LOVE SPURS TO END IT
Eagles ace stuns Guns
ANDROS TOWNSEND has put the boot into Arsenal, saying he hopes Tottenham finally finish above them.
That has not happened since 1995 and has never happened to the Gunners under Arsene Wenger.
But Arsenal’s 3-0 defeat at Crystal Palace on Monday has left them 14 points behind their north London rivals.
And Spurs old boy Townsend, who scored the opener at Selhurst Park, would love his former club to get the better of Wenger’s men this season.
Asked if he enjoyed his goal, a grinning Townsend said: “Yeah I did! Obviously being a Tottenham boy, to score against Arsenal is an incredible feeling.
“Are Tottenham going to finish higher than Arsenal this season? I hope so. It looked that way last season and then, for some reason, it did not happen.
“I hope so, but I am just focusing on Crystal Palace and hoping we survive. The three points were massive for us.”
The Eagles are all but safe after winning five of their last six games to open up a six-point cushion on the bottom three.
Palace have kept four clean sheets in those games and England winger Townsend reckons it is all down to new boy Mamadou Sakho.
The Liverpool loanee has had a massive impact and Townsend ® believes the Eagles should do all they can to keep him.
He said: “You have seen the impact he has had. Incredible. Four clean sheets out of five. When the ball comes into the box, he seems to be a magnet.
Scruffy
“It gives us great confidence, knowing that if they do get a cross in, he is going to be there to get it away. He is an incredible player and, if we survive, we should do all we can to keep him next season.”
Despite their top form, Townsend feels Palace’s battle at the bottom will go the distance.
He said: “We have still got difficult games to come, so we are not getting carried away. If we can beat Leicester on Saturday, then things are looking good, but we are not looking beyond that.
“The three points were massive. We would have taken a scruffy 1-0 but to win 3-0 and in the manner we did... we just have to follow it up against Leicester.
“It is a real shame that we could not do that earlier in the season. That is football. We are playing well as a team now. Hopefully we can do enough to stay up and then reassess in the summer.”