sport news Tottenham vs Arsenal: Martin Keown and Peter Crouch debate the North London ... trends now
Tottenham take on arch-rivals Arsenal in the North London derby on Thursday in what will go a long way in deciding who gets Champions League football next season.
Unlike this season's earlier meeting between the two sides – which saw Arsenal comfortably beat Nuno Espirito Santo's Spurs side 3-0 at the Emirates – there will be a lot more than bragging rights on the line this time around, given that both sides are fighting to finish in the top four.
But who will win this hugely anticipated encounter? Do any Spurs players fit into the Arsenal team and vice-versa? And what are the biggest moments from this fixture over the years?
Arsenal legend MARTIN KEOWN and Spurs hero PETER CROUCH discuss all ahead of this Thursday's goliath Premier League showdown.
Tottenham face arch-rivals Arsenal in Thursday's hotly-anticipated North London derby
Sportsmail's columnists Peter Crouch (left) and Martin Keown (right) talk all things Arsenal and Spurs ahead of this huge clash at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
KEOWN: This game is in my blood. I grew up at the Arsenal academy and if we were facing Tottenham, there would be an extra emphasis placed on this fixture. Our youth coaches would talk about it all week. They'd give us extra work in training.
It was ingrained into us how we had to beat Tottenham. I know how much it means to Spurs, too. I lived in digs that were closer to White Hart Lane than Highbury and my dear old landlord, Charlie Heathorne, was a huge Tottenham fan, forever telling me about their great teams of yesteryear.
I’m grateful for that because I learned from Charlie how much a supporter can truly love his club – and it made me realise how much I wanted to be a part of an Arsenal team that was more successful than those rivals down the road!
CROUCH: I’ve played in plenty of derbies and this one is right up there. The atmosphere was always electric and the one that sticks out in my mind is the 4-4 draw with that 40-yard David Bentley goal.
It was just before I arrived back at Spurs and you’re sat there going 'wow'. It felt like there were so many great games between us back then. Some great drama. There was always something riding on them and it was a transition period in the area around then.
Arsenal had been so dominant and that spell acted as a turning point. We were reaching the Champions League and things were looking up. We felt that we had them. We were catching up.
David Bentley scored a ridiculous 40-yard goal in a 4-4 classic between Spurs and Arsenal
KEOWN: There's a ferocity that comes with this fixture. Like when Graham Roberts infamously barged Charlie Nicholas over the advertising boards and into the stands. That happened in my first North London derby on New Year’s Day, 1986.
The Highbury pitch was frozen because the undersoil heating wasn't working properly. We wore special studs – resembling nails surrounded by leather bands – just to stay on our feet and drew 0-0 on that ice rink.
Coming through the Arsenal ranks, we were educated to embrace and love this fixture and not fear it – and I've seen first-hand how vitriolic it can get. The day Sol Campbell went back to face his former club in November 2001 was the most ferocious atmosphere I've ever experienced at White Hart Lane.
Keown insists Arsenal players were educated to embrace and love this fixture – not fear it
You looked in the stands and there was pure hatred there. And yet, we still left with a result, along with a few smashed windows on our team bus. Arsenal's players need to know a white-hot atmosphere will be awaiting them and they cannot let themselves get distracted from the task at hand.
Like we did, they need to play with their hearts but most of all with their heads. Embrace it. Love it. Stick to your game plan and get what you need to finish fourth.
CROUCH: What’s so good about this one is the consequences of the result – and players have to relish that. It’s huge, basically a shootout. What is special about this is how different it is to the other derbies… Liverpool and Everton are fighting for different things, the two Manchester clubs the same. I’ve been there.
Remember when I scored that goal against Manchester City to get Spurs into the Champions League? Honestly, there is no bigger buzz. Somebody can go and do that. I’ve never had a better feeling after scoring a goal. Go out and be that hero.
Crouch insists his header to get Spurs into the Champions League was the 'biggest buzz' – and the same could happen for the players out on the pitch on Thursday
Keown celebrates winning the Premier League title at White Hart Lane in 2003-04
KEOWN: The day Arsenal won the 2003-04 Premier League title at White Hart Lane. Tottenham did their best to stop us, coming back from 2-0 down to draw 2-2. But that was enough to see us crowned champions and continue our Invincibles run.
I remember how we were told not to celebrate so we didn't agitate the home crowd. But there was no stopping us. The Lane's away dressing room wasn't the biggest, but they could have locked us in a broom cupboard and we'd have had a party.
Mikel Arteta's Arsenal have a similar chance to bag the ultimate bragging rights by winning on Tottenham's
