City’s Walker eager to beat ‘bitter rivals’ Arsenal

manchester — Manchester City defender Kyle Walker’s love for former club Tottenham Hotspur will motivate him against Arsenal in the League Cup final on Sunday, the 27-yearold has said.

The England international was involved in the north London derby on numerous occasions as he played 229 matches for Tottenham in eight years at the club before sealing a move to Premier League rivals City in August.

Walker has featured in all of the City’s League Cup fixtures so far and is eager to renew his rivalry against Arsenal but has warned his team mates to be cautious of Arsene Wenger’s strengthened squad.

“Spurs is a club which belongs to my heart and to get one over on their bitter rivals, and mine for a long time, would be a fantastic feeling. But it’s a game of football and anything can happen in 90 minutes,” Walker told Sky Sports.

“They’ve made some excellent signings in January which we need to be careful of, and we need to just say: ‘Let the best team win’.”

Walker came close to winning the league twice with Tottenham but the club faltered and defender said his decision to leave Mauricio Pochettino’s team to join City was partly due to the lack of silverware.

“For me, I want to win stuff,” Walker said. “I hate losing, and to be with Tottenham for the number of years I was and not pick up anything was disappointing. We were very close for two seasons, with Leicester City and Chelsea, but we just fell short and I don’t want that to happen here at City.”

Walker is now on the verge of winning two trophies in a single season as City are favourites to win the cup final and hold a commanding 16-point lead atop the league table.

Walker, who believes he has become wiser at City, previously lost at the League Cup final as Tottenham were beaten by Chelsea in 2015 and the defender is keen to avoid a repeat. —