Sol Campbell knows better than most what the North London Derby means to both clubs.
The Englishman has played on both sides of this volatile divide, after crossing it in infamous fashion during the summer of 2001.
As Arsenal prepare to visit Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday, the former defender believes the Premier League’s most combustible derby may once again ignore the script.
'Spurs are coming into this one as underdogs and there's nothing to lose' Campbell believes form goes out the window ahead of the North London Derby
“Spurs have got nothing to lose now, and when you've got nothing to lose, the handbrake comes off and you can feel liberated by that,” he tells FourFourTwo on behalf of Paddy Power. “It’s a bit like a wounded animal. I'm not saying Spurs are a wounded animal but, you know, they’ve got nothing to lose because everybody is expecting an Arsenal win.”
Premier League leaders Arsenal arrive as favourites, a tag they’ve earned through an impressively consistent start to the campaign. Spurs, meanwhile, have been unpredictable under new gaffer Thomas Frank, as the Dane has been forced to contend with a number of injuries. Yet Campbell warns that North London Derbies rarely go the way fans expect.
“Anything can happen,” he says. “Spurs could score a wonder strike, there could be another mazy run from a defender like we recently saw with Micky van de Ven, or a shot from range that deflects in.
“Big derbies, and this is a massive derby, can be unpredictable. That's the thing now, Spurs are coming into this one as underdogs and there's nothing to lose.”
Despite their injuries and uneven form, Campbell believes Frank’s gung-ho tactics could be key to the home side getting a good result.
“They're going to play football, they're going to push up, they're going to try things,” he says. “That's the thing, because they’re an unpredictable kind of team. You have to be careful because you never know in the North London Derby.”
