SOL CAMPBELL laughs loudly when SunSport asks him about his favourite memories of the North London derby.
The former England defender — who controversially played for both Arsenal and Tottenham — pauses, then names a famous goal scored by Thierry Henry in 2002.
The Gunners’ French forward took the ball from his own half and dribbled through the Spurs team before scoring inside the area in front of the Highbury North Bank.
His goal was so good, and so iconic, the club turned Henry’s celebration into a statue at the Emirates Stadium.
Yet Campbell’s personal memories of this massive fixture — certainly since crossing the divide in 2001 — are not so rosy.
They feature a huge amount of abuse, with an effigy hung outside White Hart Lane and missiles chucked at the Arsenal team bus.
Even on Sunday at the Emirates, both sets of fans will be singing about the former England defender.
But from those in white shirts, it will not be complimentary.
Yet Campbell, who had been at Spurs all his career before making a free transfer to Highbury aged 26, reveals he has stayed away from the derby since he last played in it — a 1-1 draw at White Hart Lane in October 2005.
Equally, Campbell has yet to step foot in Tottenham’s new stadium — even for an event away from football such as NFL or a concert.
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Campbell, now 51 — who won 71 England caps — said: “I’ve not been to that fixture since my last derby game, when I played back there [at Tottenham].
“Jermain Defoe told me when all my photos got taken down and things like that.
“When he came and joined me at Portsmouth [from Spurs], he said, ‘There’s a few pictures going back up with you in it’, in obscure areas of the club.
“I’m not too sure about the new stadium as I haven’t been there. No music concerts. No. Nothing.”
After joining Arsenal, Campbell played in eight North London derbies — winning three, drawing four and losing one.
His sole loss came in his brief second stint with the Gunners in 2010.
The centre-back, who had a 20-year Premier League career, feels more should have been done to stop the abuse.
The unprecedented level of hatred towards him was particularly evident at his first game back at White Hart Lane in 2001.
Talking about the abuse he suffered — and in a message clearly directed at the likes of former Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy — Campbell said: “I think some people have got away and are kind of hiding.
“A lot of people, when they look back, they would probably say to themselves, ‘What was I doing back then? I can’t believe I was acting like that’.
“I get the fans were being whipped up. But it’s the people who had so much — the powerful people who did nothing and just allowed it to linger, allowed it to carry on.
“And now they don’t want to own up, don’t want to say sorry, don’t want to say that should not have happened.
“People on TV, politicians as well, putting their five pence worth in . . .
“Everybody got involved. Everybody was allowed to get away with it.
“No one wants to remember how they acted and how they treated me with disdain and the way they carried on — and there was no protection.
“People with power just turned their backs, just put their heads in the sand and thought it would just go away or just, you know . . . time will forget. And no one has apologised.
“It’s really sad because obviously my family got affected and things like that.
“For me — and Luis Figo when he went between Barcelona and Real Madrid — there’s no way on that level someone could be treated again on a football field or in and around football clubs. It’s impossible.”
While some Spurs fans will have violins out, Campbell is right.
Both clubs now would have made attempts to try to cool the situation down.
The counter-argument is that the player at his peak should not have joined Tottenham’s neighbours and bitter rivals.
Yet back to that favourite moment of Campbell’s — the wonderful Henry goal in a 3-0 home win.
Speaking on behalf of Paddy Power, he said: “It was an amazing run, about three-quarters of the pitch. I think that is probably one of the best games I’ve seen.
“In a derby, an individual player just takes the whole game by the scruff of the neck and produces an incredible moment after an incredible run.
“That one definitely sticks out in the mind. Just being there, just seeing this guy, just like poetry really.”
As for this latest North London derby, Campbell believes Arsenal should not approach it as a ‘must not lose’ contest.
He added: “I think the second you start saying ‘don’t lose it’, that’s when you can end up losing it. The players must not get swept up in things. They just have to do a job.”