Terrace Talk: Nothing from officials and not much from our team

The old cliché that form goes out of the window for the North London derby certainly held true. Arsenal, lacklustre so far, were lively and dominant; Spurs showed absolutely nothing of the form that has got everyone talking and referee Mike Dean firmly put to bed the view that he is biased towards Spurs.

Derby day started early with a breakfast meet-up with friends who would be going and others who would be watching in the pub. Most of us are tense, keyed up and unable to talk about or think of anything else but the game, so the answer is to make a day of it and stay well clear of anyone who hasn’t got the bug.

The stadium is packed and there is a crackle in the air at kick-off — atmosphere at the Emirates another example of form going out of the window. From the off, the home side snap and buzz and are pressing from the front, shutting in-form Eriksen out, cutting the supply lines to Kane, harassing the back three.