EXCLUSIVE

Some footballers can be overwhelmed by a derby, but the prospect of a match against Arsenal is unlikely to trouble Tottenham's Erik Lamela.

Tottenham’s £30 million record signing has played in two of the most intense cross-city rivalries in the world — for River Plate against Boca Juniors in the Buenos Aires ‘superclasico’ and for Roma against Lazio in Italy’s capital city showdown.

Lose one of those and you face the fury of your own supporters as well as the monotony of a week-long retreat at the training ground, away from your own home.

Compared with the feverish atmosphere of those matches, then, the north London derby is relatively sedate. “Here in England, there is less of a frenzy,” said Lamela. “There is more in Argentina or Italy, where maybe you lose a game and you won’t be able to leave the stadium in safety.

“That happened before in Argentina and perhaps at Roma when the team weren’t playing well. In Italy, after a few defeats, it’s quite common for the team to have to stay at the training ground for a few days, rather than go home.

“This isn’t the case in England. Fans in England want to win the derbies but people are more respectful. They are wonderful to play in and the 2-1 win over Arsenal last season will stay in my mind forever.”

Lamela also made his Spurs debut against the Gunners, playing 15 minutes as a substitute in a 1-0 defeat at Emirates Stadium in September 2013. He recalled: “That was difficult because I’d only just arrived, I was staying in a hotel and I hadn’t seen the place where I was supposed to live.

“I’d been in London only a couple of days; I didn’t know the way the team played or any of my team-mates. I arrived and barely spoke a word of English, so I didn’t understand anything. Luckily I’m now doing much better with the language and that is a great help.”

On the pitch, Lamela is improving, too. The 23 year old still struggles to produce consistently the form he showed in his second season at Roma, when he scored 15 goals in 33 Serie A games. There have, however, been far more examples of the talent that persuaded former Spurs technical director Franco Baldini to recommend his signing.

"In Argentina or Italy, maybe you lose and you aren't able to leave the stadium safely." Erik Lamela

After two disappointing campaigns, Tottenham were prepared to let Lamela go last summer and were in talks with Inter Milan and Marseille. But Lamela stayed and since re-establishing himself in the starting XI, has enjoyed his best spell at the club.

Lamela has scored four goals this season and registered three assists. According to official Premier League statistics, he creates more than three chances per game on average. His first two seasons were disappointing but must be placed in context.

Here was a 21-year-old — Lamela’s age when he joined — who lacked the trust of his managers, Andre Villas-Boas and then Tim Sherwood, and suffered a back injury during his first season that kept him out for five months.

Lamela was nearly 7,000 miles from friends and family in Argentina and struggling to communicate in a country whose culture and customs are different from those he knows. It was easier in Italy, where Spanish speakers pick up the language with far less effort; Lamela remains fluent in Italian despite spending only two years at Roma.

Lamela believes, too, that Mauricio Pochettino is the first Spurs coach to have faith in him.

“Mentally, it’s difficult and you have to be strong,” Lamela admitted. “Luckily, I have my girlfriend with me the majority of the time but my family are back in Argentina, although they visit now and then. I would be at home, outside my own country, maybe without my family and under those circumstances it was hard in the first season when I wasn’t playing.

Tottenham vs Anderlecht: Player Ratings 14 show all Tottenham vs Anderlecht: Player Ratings 1/14 Hugo Lloris: 7 Had a pretty quiet evening until he was beaten by Imoh Ezekiel for the Anderlecht equaliser on 71 minutes. The Spurs keeper could do nothing as the substitute cut through the Spurs defence and poked home from close range. 2/14 Kieran Trippier: 7 Got forward and looked solid defensively so had a decent night's work. Knows he is second fiddle to Kyle Walker but will be pleased with his display here. 3/14 Toby Alderweireld: 7 Put in another assured display alongside Jan Vertonghen. Dealt with the threat of Stefano Okaka well and made a couple of important blacks. Okaka was a handful all evening but Alderweireld and Spurs contained the Anderlecht frontman well. 4/14 Jan Vertonghen: 7 Made a brilliant last-ditch tackle to deny Stefano Okaka an early goal for Anderlecht. Spurs look solid with Vertonghen and Toby Alderweireld at the back and both will play a key role against Arsenal in Sunday's north London derby. Clive Rose/Getty Images 5/14 Ben Davies: 6 Did well at left-back and nearly scored his first Tottenham goal with a dipping half volley that hit the crossbar. Got forward all evening and looked solid at the back. 6/14 Dele Alli: 6 Could not quite produce the level he reached during his man-of-the-match performance against Aston Villa on night. But tried to make things happen before being replaced by Joshua Onomah with 20 minutes to go. 7/14 Eric Dier: 7 Called up to the England squad for the first time by Roy Hodgson hours before kick-off, Dier had another good game in the defensive midfield position. The 21-year-old has looked the part this season and has a key role in the Spurs side. 8/14 Erik Lamela: 6 Looked a constant threat for Spurs but frustrated at times when in good positions. Still divides opinions. 9/14 Ryan Mason: 6 Has lost his place in the side this season but took his opportunity with a decent performance in midfield. Was replaced by Mousa Dembele just after Anderlecht equalised. 10/14 Christian Eriksen: 6 Teed up Harry Kane for Tottenham's opener early in the first half but they had a pretty quiet evening before being taken off just before the hours. Mauricio Pochettino no doubt had one eye on Arsenal. 11/14 Harry Kane: 7 Bang in form ahead of Sunday's north London derby. Kane scored the opener and has now found the net five times in his last three games. Took his goal brilliantly and will be full of confidence and is starting to show his form of last season. 12/14 Heung-min Son: 7 Came on in the second half for his first appearance in over a month after a foot injury and set up Mousa Dembele for the winner. 13/14 Mousa Dembele: 7 The match-winner. Came on to score a stunning 87th-minute half volley to give Spurs all three points and put them in control of Group J. 14/14 Joshua Onomah: 6 Teenager came on as a late substitute and had little time to make an impact. 1/14 Hugo Lloris: 7 Had a pretty quiet evening until he was beaten by Imoh Ezekiel for the Anderlecht equaliser on 71 minutes. The Spurs keeper could do nothing as the substitute cut through the Spurs defence and poked home from close range. 2/14 Kieran Trippier: 7 Got forward and looked solid defensively so had a decent night's work. Knows he is second fiddle to Kyle Walker but will be pleased with his display here. 3/14 Toby Alderweireld: 7 Put in another assured display alongside Jan Vertonghen. Dealt with the threat of Stefano Okaka well and made a couple of important blacks. Okaka was a handful all evening but Alderweireld and Spurs contained the Anderlecht frontman well. 4/14 Jan Vertonghen: 7 Made a brilliant last-ditch tackle to deny Stefano Okaka an early goal for Anderlecht. Spurs look solid with Vertonghen and Toby Alderweireld at the back and both will play a key role against Arsenal in Sunday's north London derby. Clive Rose/Getty Images 5/14 Ben Davies: 6 Did well at left-back and nearly scored his first Tottenham goal with a dipping half volley that hit the crossbar. Got forward all evening and looked solid at the back. 6/14 Dele Alli: 6 Could not quite produce the level he reached during his man-of-the-match performance against Aston Villa on night. But tried to make things happen before being replaced by Joshua Onomah with 20 minutes to go. 7/14 Eric Dier: 7 Called up to the England squad for the first time by Roy Hodgson hours before kick-off, Dier had another good game in the defensive midfield position. The 21-year-old has looked the part this season and has a key role in the Spurs side. 8/14 Erik Lamela: 6 Looked a constant threat for Spurs but frustrated at times when in good positions. Still divides opinions. 9/14 Ryan Mason: 6 Has lost his place in the side this season but took his opportunity with a decent performance in midfield. Was replaced by Mousa Dembele just after Anderlecht equalised. 10/14 Christian Eriksen: 6 Teed up Harry Kane for Tottenham's opener early in the first half but they had a pretty quiet evening before being taken off just before the hours. Mauricio Pochettino no doubt had one eye on Arsenal. 11/14 Harry Kane: 7 Bang in form ahead of Sunday's north London derby. Kane scored the opener and has now found the net five times in his last three games. Took his goal brilliantly and will be full of confidence and is starting to show his form of last season. 12/14 Heung-min Son: 7 Came on in the second half for his first appearance in over a month after a foot injury and set up Mousa Dembele for the winner. 13/14 Mousa Dembele: 7 The match-winner. Came on to score a stunning 87th-minute half volley to give Spurs all three points and put them in control of Group J. 14/14 Joshua Onomah: 6 Teenager came on as a late substitute and had little time to make an impact.

“I didn’t play as much as I expected and then I had the injury, which lasted too long and wasn’t easy. I went to training but I couldn’t get fit and that was a painful experience. But I had no doubts I wanted to continue on this path. When I came back for the second season, my mindset changed.

“But you need a strong character. I could have stayed in Argentina but because I wanted to grow as a player, I went to Italy. I had the same idea in my mind when I came to Tottenham. As a youngster in South America, there is more chance to express your talent, without thinking too much about formations and tactics. Football over here is much more tactical, so when you come to Europe, you have to learn a lot about these aspects.”

Lamela is trying to follow in the footsteps of Ossie Ardiles and Ricky Villa, who joined Tottenham after the 1978 World Cup. Villa is remembered for his wonderful goal against Manchester City in the 1981 FA Cup Final replay. Ardiles went on to manage Spurs and is still remembered affectionately for his decade as a player at White Hart Lane. Ardiles, in particular, has been an important figure for Lamela. He revealed: “We’ve had dinner together, he’s a great guy who gave me a lot of advice and I’m grateful for what he told me.

“He helped me understand what Tottenham means and what the club represents. Whenever I see him at the training ground we say hello, stop and chat. He’s a player who everyone knows, both here and in Argentina, where he was part of the World Cup-winning squad in 1978. I know what he did here and it’s important for me to try to follow that.”

Lamela has some way to go to achieve Ardiles’s status but the winner at Emirates Stadium on Sunday would help him along the way.

Erik Lamela surprised a group of youngsters at Tottenham Hotspur’s Soccer School in Epping Forest, where he showed off a few tricks and took part in a signing session with the children. For more information visit tottenhamhotspur.com/soccer-schools