Mauricio Pochettino: No excuses for Tottenham ahead of Arsenal clash

However, as Spurs struggled to find a crucial victor against the Belgian giants, Pochettino thrust Dembele into the action as a late substitute and he rewarded his manager with a fine long-range strike in the 86th minute, to hand his team a 2-1 victory.

With the pressure mounting from the hosts but time ticking away, Dembele took advantage of a clever Son Heung-Min assist to fire a stunning first-time right foot shot crashing into the top corner from outside the box.

He added: “I never got the chance to meet him but I’m sure my grandma Kathy will be there to see me and it will be a very proud moment for her”. We have a young squad and the player made a mistake, and when you cross the limit it is important to stop that.

“I was just having lunch and he called me over and said he had spoken to Roy Hodgson after the Aston Villa game and he thought there was a strong possibility I would be in the squad”.

Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Nabil Bentaleb has been named in the Algeria squad for upcoming World Cup qualifiers despite Mauricio Pochettino’s concerns over the player’s fitness.

Spurs, unbeaten in 10 league games, are now five points behind Arsenal in the table and Sunday is an opportunity for both sides to lay down a marker. “It’s a lot of things, you have a lot of responsibility as a professional”.

Townsend has apologised for the altercation but is believed to be considering his future at Tottenham, where the likes of Christian Eriksen, Mousa Dembele, Erik Lamela and Nacer Chadli have all moved ahead of him in the pecking order. It’s up to them to have a future here.

“I don’t want to put out the idea they have an advantage in the game”, Pochettino said. It’s a private matter. I think 3/1 is a great price on the draw.

“I am happy with how we develop our philosophy, we showed today the way we want to play”. “Your question and my answer”.

Pochettino was asked if Townsend still has a future at Tottenham and he replied: “All players have a future, it’s up to them to have a future here”.

A lot was expected of Andros Townsend when he burst into the scene for Tottenham Hotspur a few seasons ago but unfortunately, it has to be said that the winger has not been able to fulfill his potential so far.