Paul Merson isn’t normally overly apologetic when it comes to despising Tottenham Hotspur.
The Sky Sports pundit spent 12 years of his career playing for Arsenal, and as a fan of the club, he’s often poking little digs at Spurs whilst using his platform in the media.
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Merson had some good performances against Tottenham as a player and despite his jovial tone towards the white half of North London, he clearly likes to remain professional.
That has been highlighted with some comments that he’s made during a recent interview involving something he said towards a Tottenham star after last year’s North London-derby.
In last season’s derby-day clash at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Gabriel scored the only goal of the game, and afterwards, Merson rang one player up to apologise to him for some comments he made.
Why Paul Merson apologised to James Maddison
Maddison has been sorely missed by Tottenham this year and after injuring his ACL in pre-season, it’s not clear when he will return to the pitch.
The attacking midfielder was in action under Ange Postecoglou when Tottenham lost 1-0 to Arsenal in September 2024, and Merson has shared how he felt that he unceremoniously dug him out.
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Speaking on his decision to pick up the phone and apologise after that game, Merson told the Stick to Football podcast: “I did Arsenal vs Tottenham at the new stadium, and I picked out Maddison.
“I thought, why am I picking out Maddison and not everyone else?
“I just said he wasn’t good enough. He played in my position, and in the 10, you need to affect the football match, and he wasn’t doing it.
“But you have to get the ball off the midfield. I rang him up, and he hadn’t even seen it.”
Tottenham have work to do before next North London derby
Before attention can turn towards the next North London clash, Tottenham have to go to Manchester United and face Newcastle on home soil.
Given that Spurs didn’t win a Premier League match in January, it’s vital that Thomas Frank puts that right in the next two games to face the Gunners with some confidence.
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Much like Ange Postecoglou before him, Frank is in a bit of a perilous situation in the Premier League and he will know that his form in that competition will seal his fate.
Having Maddison back would be a huge help, but that does feel unlikely in the short term.
The next derby-day game is coming into view, and now the focus has to be on working hard to get that victory before the Gunners come to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.