A WEEK ago, I spoke to an Arsenal-supporting friend of mine.

He was licking his lips in anticipation of the North London derby, convinced that Juande Ramos' side would pay a bitter price for that humiliating 5-1 victory in the Carling Cup last season. Strangely, he's been a bit quiet since the weekend.

He, like every other seasoned observer of this ridiculous game, knows that you simply cannot legislate for the effect of a new manager on an underperforming squad.

Harry Redknapp has now had the benefit of two training sessions with his new players and the initial whispers from White Hart Lane suggest that they couldn't be more delighted with the former Portsmouth boss.

Redknapp is a player's manager, in the mould of that other Tottenham legend, Terry Venables.

He coaxes the best out of his charges, forcing them to stand up and take responsibility for their own actions, but also allowing them the freedom to express themselves.

Look at Paolo di Canio of West Ham, at Sol Campbell of Portsmouth, and you can only wonder at what Luka Modric, David Bentley and Giovani, will be like in a month's time.

Of course, this isn't to say that Spurs are already a renewed power, or that they can even come close to beating their most bitter rivals.

Arsenal, after their wobble at the end of last month, have recovered quickly with back-to-back wins over Everton and West Ham.

In all the excitement at Stamford Bridge, very few people noticed the efficiency with which Arsene Wenger's side dispatched the Hammers on Sunday.

They're also starting to get some of their players back after a series of short-term lay-offs.

William Gallas and Bacary Sagna both made comebacks of varying degrees at Upton Park, Kolo Toure was an unused substitute and Mikael Silvestre was able to get another much-needed game under his belt. Their season is improving.

Four-man midfield

Most interestingly of all, Wenger finally decided to try Alexandre Song out in the centre of a four-man midfield, ending a run of anonymous performances from Denilson.

The quest to replace Mathieu Flamini may not be over yet, but Song certainly gave the clearest indication yet that he may be the man to fill the Frenchman's boots.

The young Cameroonian gave a tigerish performance in the middle and it should be enough to win him another chance in the starting line-up tonight.

In many ways this is a perfect game for Redknapp. If Arsenal win by a hatful of goals, he'll be able to stand in front of the press and claim that he needs money for new signings and that there's a lot of work still be done.

But if he wins, if he guides Spurs to their first victory away at Arsenal since 1993, then any question marks still surrounding his appointment, and there are a few fans left unconvinced, will vanish into thin air.

One thing is for sure. As kick-off approaches, Arsenal fans will wish that Daniel Levy had given Juande Ramos just one more week to prove himself.