‘My heart is with Arsenal’: Gunners-mad midfielder rules out ever signing for Tottenham

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Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur are both in Europa League action this evening, ahead of facing each other in the Premier League this weekend.

The Gunners take on Olympiacos, whilst Spurs host Croatian side Dinamo Zagreb – and that may mean a run-in with a former Arsenal player.

Now, we’ve all heard of Tottenham’s ‘Welsh Mafia’, with Joe Rodon, Ben Davies and Gareth Bale flying the flag for Wales in North London, but Robbie Burton is doing the same over in Zagreb.

The midfielder may not be nearly as big of a name as Bale, but he could share a pitch with him tonight having traded Arsenal for Dinamo in 2020.

The 21-year-old spent 14 years in the Arsenal ranks, picking up five goals in 34 Under-18 games and five goals in 31 Under-23 games before heading off to Croatia last year.

Burton has only played 12 first-team games for Dinamo, and ahead of facing Arsenal’s bitter rivals Spurs, he has looked back on his decision to leave his boyhood club whilst speaking to The Sun.

Burton noted how much he loves Arsenal, but is ‘glad’ that he left has no regrets, feeling that the move to Croatia has helped him kick on as a player after failing to make the grade with Arsenal.

He completely ruled out playing for Tottenham in the future, proclaiming ‘my heart is with Arsenal’ whilst suggesting he could maybe return to Arsenal one day if he thrives in Croatia.

“When the offer came from Dinamo, it was very hard to turn down. I don’t have any regrets about leaving Arsenal,” said Burton. “I supported them as a kid and I had 14 years there, so I always wanted to play for the first team. I was disappointed that I never got a competitive game for them.”

“Getting this chance has helped me as a footballer and as a person. I could have stayed in England and not come out of my comfort zone. I could have stayed at Arsenal for another year. Taking this step was a leap into the unknown. I’m glad I did it.”

“No, I really don’t think I could do it.  My heart is with Arsenal,” he added when asked if he could join Spurs one day. “It was my dream to play for the Arsenal first team, so to have not quite been able to accomplish that is probably the biggest thing that I hold on to. Maybe one day? Who knows?”