Arsenal star took knuckle duster to Spurs game and manager found out | Football | Sport

Former Arsenal defender Armand Traore once carried brass knuckles to the north London derby for fear of being attacked. Traore, 36, joined the Gunners in 2005 before making his first-team debut 12 months later.

Although she arrived in England from France as a teenager, the retired star had already witnessed fierce atmospheres as a fan. He grew up supporting Paris Saint-Germain and regularly attended their heated encounters against Marseille, where he claimed rival fans would “beat each other”. These experiences led Traore to take drastic action when he attended the north London derby as an Arsenal player. Fearing being spotted by a Tottenham supporter, he brought the weapon to a derby duel, which led to police intervention.

Speaking in 2017, he said: “Coming from France, I was going to PSG against Marseille and the fans there were fighting. I was only 17 and I had just started playing for the Arsenal first team. I had these images in my head.

“I went to the north London derby but I was convinced someone might recognize me. I thought if a Spurs fan did it then I had to be ready if anything happened. So I had a knuckle duster in my pocket – which was just stupid.

“As I was entering the stadium, the police found me on top of it and I ended up in custody for over 10 hours. I didn’t see a ball kicked. Eventually they released me. Then Arsene Wenger found out. I was just stupid.

“Young and naive. Can you imagine if something had actually happened? It would have changed my life. I was young and I learned my lesson. It was a stupid mistake.”

Despite having a five-year contract with Arsenal, Traore only managed 32 outings for the Gunners before his move to Queens Park Rangers. Throughout his time in north London he was loaned out to Portsmouth and Juventus, and it was at the Turin club that Traore witnessed the intensity of Italian football’s rivalries.

Reflecting on a memorable experience in Italy, he recalled: “There are some incredible rivalries in Italy. The one with Napoli was the worst. We arrived there the day before and there were about 300 Napoli fans outside the hotel.

“When we left to go to the stadium, they were following us on mopeds and hitting parked cars. It was crazy. I didn’t really feel threatened, no. But it made you think: ‘This is a real passion.'”

Traore could well be in attendance for Sunday’s north London derby when Arsenal host Tottenham at the Emirates, with both teams missing some key men for the clash. After a run of 14 matches without defeat, Mikel Arteta’s men are hoping to inflict a third defeat in five outings on their local foes.