Nihal Arthanayake previews United v Spurs

Wednesday 19 October 2022 10:39

You may recognise the name and unmistakable voice of TV and radio presenter Nihal Arthanayake, but you may not have known that he is a lifelong Tottenham Hotspur supporter.

The BBC Radio 5 Live presenter now resides in Salford, a stone’s throw from Old Trafford, but his passion for the Lilywhites is as strong as ever.

Ahead of United’s Premier League clash with Spurs, taking place under the lights at the Theatre of Dreams on Wednesday night, Nihal spoke to our matchday programme, United Review, to give an insight into his favourite players, living in Manchester and what it’s like interviewing the likes of Eric Cantona and Peter Schmeichel.

You can read below an extract of the interview from United Review, which is available to purchase outside of the stadium ahead of kick-off, and also available to order online.

Have you interviewed any United players?

"Yes, a number, most notably Eric Cantona, Peter Schmeichel and Gary Neville. Interviewing Eric Cantona is a whole different level of interview, especially when that interview happens to take place in Manchester. Seeing how people are totally overwhelmed with him was incredible.

"The thing about Cantona is that he’s an enigma. He doesn’t put himself out there that much. Being face-to-face with him in a small studio was a very surreal moment for sure! My interview with Gary Neville went viral because we had quite a robust tête-à-tête!"

We understand since you’ve been living in Manchester for the last six years, attending the United-Spurs fixture is becoming a family tradition?

“That’s right. My son Kingsley and I have been to the last three or four United-Tottenham matches at Old Trafford.

“Five years ago, when my son was 10, he was the Spurs mascot for the United-Spurs game. We lost 1-0 unfortunately, but it was such a memorable occasion. United had lots of mascots for that game being the home team, but there was only one away mascot. He walked out holding Hugo Lloris’s hand.

“At the game, Romelu Lukaku went to shake his hand and my son did that thing where he offered his hand and then pulled it away! We were there when Jose was managing United and we won 3-0.

“That was an incredibly sweet moment as Old Trafford has been a tough ground for Spurs to get results over the years.

“So it’s been good to pick up a few results recently, but we were also at the game earlier this year where we lost and Ronaldo scored a hat-trick for United."

Highlights: United v Tottenham Video

Highlights: United v Tottenham

Watch all the goals - and other key incidents - from our Premier League showdown with Spurs in March...

UNITED REVIEW

This extract is from the Tottenham Hotspur edition of our matchday programme, United Review, for Wednesday’s fixture.

Purchase your copy outside Old Trafford outside the stadium before kick-off, or you can order or subscribe online here.

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