Leeds United have officially secured their Premier League status after West Ham were beaten 1-0 by Arsenal at the London Stadium on Sunday.
The Hammers believed they had rescued a late point, but VAR stepped in to disallow the goal and confirm an important win for Arsenal.
The result moved Arsenal closer to winning their first Premier League title in 22 years, while leaving West Ham under even more pressure with just two games left this season.
West Ham now trail Tottenham by a single point, although Spurs still have a game in hand, meaning the Hammers will be desperate for Leeds to take something from Monday night’s clash in north London.
One of Tottenham or West Ham will become the final team to get relegated this season, and Gary Neville believes it’s a positive for the Premier League.
Gary Neville stresses the importance of Leeds United surviving
Two of last season’s three promoted teams, Leeds and Sunderland, have confirmed their survival with games to spare, and Gary Neville is delighted about it.
The former Manchester United captain has insisted that the Premier League needed to get away from the rot of the promoted teams going straight back down.
He feels it’s a positive for the league that one of the league’s established clubs, Tottenham or West Ham, will get relegated from the top flight this season.
He said on the Gary Neville Podcast: “I will be happy this year that two different clubs are going down than came up.
“Leeds and Sunderland are going to stay up.
“We needed that rot of the same teams going up and down to break; we needed that to change, so I am really happy about that.
“And it was also going to mean that one of the clubs that have been a stalwart of the Premier League is going to go down.
“It needs that, it needs a Tottenham or a West Ham to go down to demonstrate that the competitive element of the Premier League at the bottom is still there.”
The Whites now hold the key to the relegation trap door
With Premier League survival now virtually secured, Leeds can head into their final three games with a little more freedom and far less pressure.
That said, Daniel Farke will still demand high standards and will want his side to finish the season on a strong note.
There is also plenty still at stake financially, depending on where Leeds end up in the table, and that could play a big role in shaping the club’s plans for the summer transfer window.
Tottenham, meanwhile, will be hoping Leeds take their foot off the gas slightly on Monday night as Spurs look for a massive home win in their own fight for survival.
With Leeds playing both Spurs and West Ham before the end of the season, they may hold the key to deciding the final relegation spot.
