Walcott relishing Bale reunion

Arsenal and Spurs will do battle at the Emirates Stadium in one of the biggest rivalries in British football, which will also pit?former Southampton teammates Walcott and?Bale?against each other.

The duo have scored four English Premier League goals this season, but it was Bale’s performances in the Champions League against last season’s winners Inter Milan that had the football world talking.

Bale scored a stunning hat-trick at the San Siro in a 4-3 defeat before setting up two goals?in the return fixture at White Hart Lane.

In the build-up to Saturday’s clash, Walcott looked back on his relationship with long-time friend Bale with fondness.

“I’ve played with him since under-11s at Southampton, we were roommates,” Walcott told The Football Association’s website.

“I am actually looking forward to playing against Gareth Bale because me and him grew up together at such a young age at Southampton and we’ve known each other since we were 10 or 11 years old.”

“So it’s going to be another nice little treat for us both.”

Walcott said the pair are still very close and that he enjoys watching the left-winger play.

When asked who is the most exciting player in the world, Walcott responded: “In the Premier League? Gareth Bale for me.”

“We still get on really well. I watched both Inter games in the Champions League. I phoned him straight away, wanted to be the first to leave him a message,” he said.

Walcott also revealed that the Welsh wizard was a closet Arsenal fan, which is sure to stoke the fires in the build-up to this weekend’s encounter.

Tottenham will travel to the Emirates Stadium hoping to defeat Arsenal away from home for the first time since May 1993, in?what was the?debut season of the Premier League.