Theo Walcott once apologised for stirring his cappuccino too loudly at the start of an interview. For this chat with Standard Sport, he emerges from the tunnel at Emirates Stadium holding a bottle, mindful that it will soon be feeding time for nine‑month-old son Finley, who has just watched his first live game as Arsenal thump Aston Villa 5-0.

This is not someone spoiling for a fight in the week leading up to a north London derby. The 25-year-old is undoubtedly an Arsenal man but he retains great respect for Tottenham, even if there is occasionally a mischievous edge.

Walcott has navigated the path from wonderkid to established international without allowing critical scrutiny or football hyperbole to consume him. He has retained a sense of humour grounded in reality and it is from this place that he chose to remind Spurs fans of the score while being carried off on a stretcher in an FA Cup tie between the two sides in January last year.

The Gunners won 2-0 but Walcott spent the next 10 months on the sidelines with anterior cruciate ligament damage. He then suffered a groin inflammation while training with England in November which extended his wait to start a match for club or country to exactly a year, when Arsenal beat Hull 2-0 in this year’s third round.

Consequently, Walcott missed September’s 1-1 draw against Tottenham at Emirates Stadium and so Saturday’s lunchtime encounter will be his first since the interaction with Spurs fans he describes as nothing more than that footballing catch-all phrase, “banter”.

“That is in the past,” he said. “Me and the Tottenham fans have a good relationship in terms of the banter side of things. That's what comes with football. This is a massive game and it is all about the bragging rights.

“Things like that have happened in the past and it won’t be forgotten about, I’m sure, but it is one thing I’ve moved on from. Every player will get stick I am sure but it is about just trying to go out there and perform.

“Any criticism won’t affect me at all. It is enjoyable — it’s a bit different and it is always a great atmosphere at White Hart Lane. It is probably the fixture I always look forward to playing in the most, to be fair. It is one of the biggest games for both sets of fans and this year it is going to be tight.”

Walcott comes into the match in promising form as he seeks to regain full match fitness. He has scored goals on successive Sundays, against Brighton and Villa, and played in four of Arsenal’s last five matches, all of which they have won.

London clubs: Winners and losers in the January transfer window 2 show all London clubs: Winners and losers in the January transfer window 1/2 TOTTENHAM - 50/50 The club needed a new forward — sound familiar? — and didn’t get one because they failed to offload either Adebayor or Roberto Soldado. Mauricio Pochettino decided he wanted to keep Soldado until the summer while Adebayor was reluctant to take many of the options presented to him. The one he favoured, West Ham, ultimately fell through because of a disagreement between the clubs about how his £100,000-a-week wages would be funded. Danny Ings and Kevin Mirallas, two prominent targets, would have improved this squad considerably. But it was unrealistic to expect Burnley and Everton to let them go in mid-season. The concern for Pochettino is unwanted players — Adebayor, Younes Kaboul, Etienne Capoue — have stayed. But the Argentine has proved adept at rotating his squad and he must continue to be so. Paulinho and Mousa Dembele are back in favour and must justify the decision to keep them. Looking further ahead, Spurs also did a £5m deal for highly rated midfielder Dele Alli, loaning him back to MK Dons for the rest of the season. (Tom Collomosse). Getty 2/2 ARSENAL - WINNERS Arsene Wenger addressed two chief squad weaknesses while avoiding the deadline-day scramble that has been the club’s hallmark in recent years. However, only time will tell as to how effectively the holes have been plugged. Krystian Bielik could be anything at 17 years old and although Wenger has put the defensive midfielder straight into the first-team group, it would be asking a lot for him to make an immediate impact. Gabriel Paulista provides vital cover in defence and his performances for Villarreal make him a promising signing at a relatively cheap £11.2million. Two frustrated strikers have been sent on loan with Lukas Podolski going to Inter Milan and Joel Campbell heading to Spain as part of the Gabriel deal, while Yaya Sanogo will gain useful experience at Crystal Palace. Injuries to Olivier Giroud and/or Danny Welbeck would leave Wenger short of strikers but on balance this was a positive and efficient window for Arsenal. (James Olley) 1/2 TOTTENHAM - 50/50 The club needed a new forward — sound familiar? — and didn’t get one because they failed to offload either Adebayor or Roberto Soldado. Mauricio Pochettino decided he wanted to keep Soldado until the summer while Adebayor was reluctant to take many of the options presented to him. The one he favoured, West Ham, ultimately fell through because of a disagreement between the clubs about how his £100,000-a-week wages would be funded. Danny Ings and Kevin Mirallas, two prominent targets, would have improved this squad considerably. But it was unrealistic to expect Burnley and Everton to let them go in mid-season. The concern for Pochettino is unwanted players — Adebayor, Younes Kaboul, Etienne Capoue — have stayed. But the Argentine has proved adept at rotating his squad and he must continue to be so. Paulinho and Mousa Dembele are back in favour and must justify the decision to keep them. Looking further ahead, Spurs also did a £5m deal for highly rated midfielder Dele Alli, loaning him back to MK Dons for the rest of the season. (Tom Collomosse). Getty 2/2 ARSENAL - WINNERS Arsene Wenger addressed two chief squad weaknesses while avoiding the deadline-day scramble that has been the club’s hallmark in recent years. However, only time will tell as to how effectively the holes have been plugged. Krystian Bielik could be anything at 17 years old and although Wenger has put the defensive midfielder straight into the first-team group, it would be asking a lot for him to make an immediate impact. Gabriel Paulista provides vital cover in defence and his performances for Villarreal make him a promising signing at a relatively cheap £11.2million. Two frustrated strikers have been sent on loan with Lukas Podolski going to Inter Milan and Joel Campbell heading to Spain as part of the Gabriel deal, while Yaya Sanogo will gain useful experience at Crystal Palace. Injuries to Olivier Giroud and/or Danny Welbeck would leave Wenger short of strikers but on balance this was a positive and efficient window for Arsenal. (James Olley)

The Gunners have not lost since their New Year’s Day defeat at Southampton and last month’s victory at Manchester City has engendered a self-belief and work-rate that has shown no signs of abating. Yet Spurs have lost just one of their last nine League games and last season’s 1-0 defeat by Arsenal is their only home derby failure in the League in six meetings.

It may pitch sixth versus fifth in the table but the emergence of Southampton and West Ham, in conjunction with Manchester United’s revival and Liverpool’s resurgence, has made achieving a top-four spot acutely competitive, especially with Chelsea and Manchester City looking safe bets for their places.

“I think it is an even bigger game this year than ever,” said Walcott. “Tottenham are doing very well, getting those last-minute goals which shows a knack of getting important three points. It will be two very strong teams that are very high on confidence so for the neutral it will be a very interesting game.

“It is going to be difficult to call but if we play the way we did against Villa, hopefully, it will be ours. A draw wouldn’t be a terrible result but we always play to win.

“They have been very comfortable on the ball, passing it well and pressing it high up. He [manager Mauricio Pochettino] likes his sides to be right on you from the start and they are difficult to break down. They have got a fantastic goalkeeper in Hugo Lloris, who is very sharp off his line. He is making some fantastic saves.

“And, of course, they have [Christian] Eriksen, who has been one of the most underrated players in the Premier League this season. He has stood out but we have Santi [Cazorla], who is also in great form and not always getting recognition, either. ”