Postecoglou speaks on costing Arsenal the title; confirms key Tottenham pair fit for derby, but duo ruled out

Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou admits he can understand why fans are motivated by denying Arsenal the Premier League title ahead of the North London derby, while the Australian also provided the latest on his side’s injury situation.

The Gunners are top of the table but need to win to keep alive their challenge to Manchester City, who also face Spurs before the end of the season, as they have a game in hand.

Spurs go into the derby in mixed form, having won just twice in the last five games. Victory would help maintain their stuttering push for a top four finish and Champions League qualification.

They are fifth, six points adrift of Aston Villa with two games in hand.

Tottenham are now a long shot to qualify for next year’s UCL, though costing Arsenal their first EPL title since 2004 would strike a chord with the fanbase.

Speaking in a press conference on Friday, Postecoglou said he “understands the consequences” of the game given the heated rivalry in north London.

“Yeah, it’s fair enough,” he said. “And again I’m not going to dictate to fans what they feel and how they should feel.

“We understand the importance of the game and we understand the importance particularly at home in these kind of games against our biggest rival and in the biggest derby for us not letting our opponent get on top of us.

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“So we understand the consequences of that but ultimately it’s still about us measuring ourselves against the teams we want to be challenging on a more consistent basis. And it’s a great opportunity to do that on Sunday.”

Porro, Richarlison fit, but duo ruled out

Postecoglou also reacted to the news of Destiny Udogie’s left quadriceps injury and the fact he will miss Euro 2024 with Italy, while Oliver Skipp will miss the derby too after picking up a knock. Pedro Porro and Richarlison are fit to feature from the off.

“Yeah, from the last game, a disappointing one for Destiny and for ourselves as well, because he’s been a big part of our year,” said the Spurs boss.

“It was just an unfortunate incident in training. He’s had the operation, it’s gone well – so hopefully it gives him time to have pre-season and get back into it.

“So we’ll miss him. Skippy picked up a small knock as well in training so he’ll be out for this weekend. So they’re the outs apart from the long-term ones. Pedro and Richy both trained all week so they’ll both be available.”

The north London derby is scheduled to kick off at 2pm (UK time) on Sunday.

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