Martin Keown: Let's not go back to dark old days

The players are often chastised for their part Wayne Rooney probably regrets kissing the Manchester United badge at former club Everton last weekend but it is difficult sometimes.

I have been there with 30,000 fans absolutely hammering you, knowing that everyone is focusing on your reaction.

If the players must take their share of the blame, then why not the fans?

Of course, it is easy to get carried away with the issue English football has cleaned up it's act an awful lot. We have excellent policing and stewards who work very hard to minimise the problems. They are very professional and it is also up to the clubs to stamp out this problem.

But the Respect campaign should not end on the pitch. Fans should respect players and referees and not be excluded from the campaign's parameters.

If people are going to throw coins that could take someone's eye out, they have to receive the maximum punishment which must be a lifetime ban from football.

It is tough to explain why it is happening again there will always be banter between fans and players and that is a good thing but it has turned into real hatred on occasion recently.

Supporters can police themselves to some extent, which is why Arsenal and Tottenham fans have a chance in front of Sky's cameras tonight to show that these incidents have been just isolated events and not evidence of a growing trend.

On the pitch, the current trend for Arsenal is very encouraging. Several of the players are starting to hit top gear and they have worked hard to eradicate their defensive problems.

Theo Walcott is now growing into his role and has become a consistent threat while I know Arsenal have done a lot to put right their vulnerability from set-pieces. Emmanuel Adebayor is also looking very sharp at the moment and showed he is on top of his game in the brief period he was on the pitch at West Ham last weekend.

One man who has come in for a lot of criticism is William Gallas but people should trust Arsene Wenger.

The Gunners boss will only pick players who deserve to be in the team and he has been impressed by the way Gallas has reacted to his mistakes.

Wenger has made a pretty good fist of his choices as captain down the years and with such a young squad, he obviously sees William as the man with the big heart who can lead the team.

Mikael Silvestre's arrival has also helped with both the youngsters' development and defensively solidarity.

I have been impressed with the way he has wanted to lead and has shown great determination in sorting out the back line, attacking ball and showing the aggression they need. People talk about needing height at the back but I was never that tall it doesn't matter how tall you are, the guy who wants to win it most will do just that.

Of course, will to win is not an issue tonight but it will be interesting to see how the players new to the fixture handle the unique atmosphere.

It will be the first north London derby for the likes of Roman Pavlyuchenko, Luka Modric and David Bentley and that might be a potential weakness for Tottenham, depending on if they rise to the occasion or not. But the foreign lads very quickly pick up the importance of this fixture so motivation is never a problem.

They all live locally in the area and the young boys come through the ranks and they will know there is always an extra emphasis on this match.

Harry Redknapp's arrival has come at a bad time for Arsenal. Spurs were a shambles in their last away game at Stoke but they will be a totally different proposition tonight.

It raises the temperature a little bit and suddenly they all have a clean slate after a bad start to the season. They looked better against Bolton and that will encourage them they can go to Emirates Stadium and get something from the game.

It's key for Spurs that Ledley King plays if he misses out it will be a massive blow.

Harry knows they need to get something from the game because they need points on the board to start climbing towards safety.

For Arsenal, they have to go out there and prove they are coming together as a team and take another step towards proving that the Premier League title is within their capabilities. They just need to focus on what they do best a high energy game.

The whole issue of Harry Redknapp has to be a sideshow for the Gunners, they must forget about that and simply get on with playing their game. It's got the makings of a great match let's hope the fans allow the players to grab the headlines, as I am sure they will.