Andrey Arshavin says he is eager to play in the North London derby against Tottenham Hotspur, after being told what the tie is all about.

The local rivals clash at the lunch-time kick-off on Saturday, and there will be an added intensity this year as both teams are in the top four at this point of the season.

"For us this is the most important derby and we know it," Arshavin told premierleague.com. "I found out about the importance of these matches almost immediately after I signed for Arsenal.

"People who work for the club told me about it and about the most memorable clashes with Spurs.

"They told me that after some defeats they couldn't even speak to each other for a long time."

Arsenal let West Ham back into the game in their match last week, and Arshavin is hoping for the team to bounce back against Tottenham.

"Initially we easily got an advantage - we were 2-0 up and then we allowed West Ham to equalise from set-pieces. If we had won on Sunday, we would now be very close to Chelsea in the table."