Watch: ‘Livewire’ Arsenal mascot takes on Tottenham before north London derby

Amusing incident was caught by Sky Sports cameras in the tunnel moments before the north London derby

The north London derby is always a fiery, no-holds-barred affair as Arsenal and Tottenham renew hostilities but you do not expect to see the children chosen as matchday mascots to go at each other.
In what can be considered a first in the tunnel bust-up genre, a solitary Arsenal mascot took exception to his Spurs counterparts, caught up in the joy of the occasion, as they looked to high five passing Arsenal players as they came off the pitch following their pre-match warm ups.
Much to the amusement of the Sky Sports pundits, the vastly outnumbered boy, who looked of primary school age, appeared on camera and started shoving the other children dressed in their replica kits. He then appeared to angrily gesticulate to them to leave the Arsenal players alone ahead of kick-off.
There was a look of bemusement on the faces of the Spurs contingent, who did not appear to understand why the boy was so annoyed at them greeting the away team’s players.
The North London derby rivalry starts young 😂 pic.twitter.com/uFzFCaVENN
A woman intervened to ensure things did not get out of hand as the Arsenal mascot grinned widely. He continued to bounce around the tunnel area before peace returned with the arrival of the players from both teams and Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya put an arm around the boy, who was labelled a ‘hero’ on social media.
“Look at the Arsenal mascot there … said Sky host David Jones. “Get away from our players. He’s a livewire. We need to keep an eye on him.”
And, as the rest of the matchday panel struggled to contain their laughter, Jamie Redknapp said: “He’s absolutely fearless that one.
“He’s completely outnumbered.”
The atmosphere inside the stadium was febrile before kick off, and former Spurs striker Les Ferdinand claimed: “There is not another game like it in the Premier League.”