Derby day is here again, and while the fans are getting excited about getting one over their nearest rivals, two of the stars in Saturday’s Merseyside Derby believe that it is the game of the season.
No matter at what level of football you play, derby day is the one of the best days on the calendar for us football fans. It’s an opportunity to walk into work or the pub with your head held high, while also knowing there will be someone there who is feeling totally the opposite because your side won.
But there’s always that trepidation that you could be on the end of defeat. It’s what makes it so exciting!
In this day an age where especially at elite levels of football where there are very few locals playing in he derby, it’s refreshing to hear players speak so effusively about derby day.
Speaking to Sky Sports, Liverpool’s Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, a man born in Portsmouth and used to playing in the Champions League, still says that the Merseyside Derby is ‘the game of the season’.
“Every time we play Everton it’s the game of the season,” he said.
“You can say that if we do well in the Champions League ties and go further, those games will be, but for Liverpool and Everton, this derby is the game of the season.”
Meanwhile, his former Arsenal teammate, and now rival at Everton Theo Walcott agreed:
“It’ll be a very passionate game. Up to this point it doesn’t matter what has happened this season. This is the game and it’s my first derby here. I can’t wait.”
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