Former Arsenal star Per Mertesacker is hopeful that the Tottenham Hotspur players do not play according to the wishes of their fans against Manchester City tonight.
Arsenal are banking on Tottenham getting a result tonight when Manchester City visit the north London club this evening.
If Manchester City win their last two games, they will be crowned champions regardless of what Arsenal do on the final day of the season.
A section of the Tottenham fans want their team to lose in order to stop their north London rivals Arsenal from winning the Premier League.
Mertesacker conceded that it is stranger that some Spurs fans are wishing for their team to lose, but he is hopeful that the north London club will play fair tonight.
He insisted that players never play to lose and is certain that the Spurs stars will not play according to the wishes of their fans.
The former Arsenal defender told German daily Bild: “It’s totally strange. The situation is simply that Spurs fans don’t want their team to win against Man City.
“That’s crazy.
“Hopefully it stays fair.
“That’s actually so nice about football, nobody goes on the pitch and wants to lose the game.
“The rivalry is completely ignored. When I’m on the pitch, there’s so much at stake on an individual level. Giving it away is an alien concept.
“Hopefully the Spurs fans’ wish will not be fulfilled by the players at all.”
Ange Postecoglou has insisted that his players will not think about losing to stop Arsenal.
