‘Jumped on me’ – Ex-Arsenal star recalls nearly getting into streetfight with Tottenham fan

Tottenham and Arsenal's rivalry is legendary and can get a bit heated; just ask Emmanuel Petit.

The Frenchman represented the Gunners in numerous north London derbies, so he experienced first-hand just how intense they can be.

However, on one occasion, things went too far.

Petit spent three years with Arsenal and claimed the Premier League title in that time.

And while playing for the north London giants, the former French international nearly found himself in a fight with a Spurs fan.

Speaking exclusively to talkSPORT Drive about the incident, Petit recalled just how close he came to fighting a regular supporter.

When asked about derbies, he discussed the north London affair before revealing this scary story.

He said: "One day, I was driving back from the train station, and two different cars had an argument at the traffic lights, and they came out and started to have a fight.

"There was a big truck, and he was screaming at them, and I was next to them, and I thought they were taking a risk, so someone had to tell them something, so I jumped out of my car and told them to calm down.

"This guy recognised me and said, 'you, shut up etcetera.' I am not going to repeat what he called me.

"And I said, 'what the f*** is wrong with you?'

"He said he was Spurs and got straight back into the truck, and I tried to open the window.

"I wanted to fight with him because I was peaceful, but the guy just jumped on me.

"He was insulting me, he was saying bad things about me.

"So, I was thinking to myself, 'I am not a coward. If you want a fight, I am here'.

"So, this is exactly what it means."

So, in another life, we could have seen stories about Petit fighting a Tottenham fan.

Of course, this is a very extreme example, but it does show the level of hatred between the two clubs.

This explains why former Tottenham winger Aaron Lennon can't see Harry Kane joining Arsenal if he returns from Bayern Munich.

The Gunners are in desperate need for a striker after Kai Havertz was ruled out for the season, and the idea was floated about Kane returning to the Premier League to play for Mikel Arteta's men.

However, Lennon was having none of it, given that Kane is Tottneham's record goalscorer.

Speaking on talkSPORT Breakfast, Lennon said: “I’m not buying that, not a chance in the world Harry Kane goes to Arsenal.

“I think he goes to a better club (when he leaves Bayern) or he finishes his career back at Spurs. There’s no chance he goes to Arsenal, can you imagine what that would do? (to the Tottenham fans)”

There are many great derbies and rivalries around England, all with their own history attached.

The north London derby is so important for both sets of fans and players.

On this occasion, the situation with Petit got a bit out of hand, with the Frenchman more than ready to start throwing digs, but thankfully, we avoided any tabloid-worthy situation.