Shearer says: “Tottenham will be full of confidence going into the North London derby.”

Former Newcastle legend looks ahead to crunch capital clash

It’s been a good week for Tottenham. Not only did they beat Inter Milan to keep their hopes of qualifying from their Champions League group alive, but they absolutely battered Chelsea last weekend too.

They probably should have scored six or seven and were better in every position than Chelsea and now seem to be hitting some form after a difficult start to the season, suffering from a long injury list of key players. 

Mauricio Pochettino made four changes against Inter Milan but you would expect Son and Eriksen to start against Arsenal in the North London derby this weekend. There is a lot more depth to Tottenham than people think.

Arsenal are unbeaten in 17 games (before their Europa League game against Vorskla Poltava) so they have been on a fantastic run themselves going into this derby. 

Unai Emery has got them playing some decent stuff. The manager is not afraid to make big decisions either. He left Mesut Ozil out of the visit to Bournemouth and that was justified as they got the win.

I am still not convinced about Arsenal defensively but you have to credit them for the way the way have bounced back from their tough start to the season where they had to face Manchester City and Chelsea in the opening two games.

This tie against Spurs will tell you a lot about where they are as they will have to deal with Kane, Alli and Son. It should be a cracking game and one I am really looking forward to.

We also have the Merseyside derby to enjoy this weekend. Liverpool haven’t quite hit the heights of last season yet or been as catchy on the eye.

Having said that, they are only two points behind City and that has to be a good thing, as they have yet to hit top form. They will be expected to win at home to Everton but it won’t be an easy game.

I always used to look forward to playing in derby matches. They are the games the fans look out for when the fixture list comes out and I would be desperate not to lose for them, otherwise they have a long wait until the next one to get the bragging rights back.

I always enjoyed them for the atmosphere and I liked the added pressure and on top of that you would get a little more leeway from the referee than you would for any other fixture, so it was always spicy!

I have been to all of the big derbies in England but nothing has quite eclipsed Celtic vs Rangers in Scotland. The atmosphere was just sensational. I would have loved to have played in that game in my career as it just seems such a special occasion.