Chris Hughton insists his strong connections with Spurs would not make beating Arsenal extra special.

The Albion boss spent most of his playing career and the early years of his move into coaching and management with the Gunners' North London rivals.

But his Tottenham background makes no difference to Hughton as he tries to plot Arsenal's downfall at the Amex on Sunday.

"No it doesn't, not as a manager really," he said. "My allegiance and background is Tottenham – and Tottenham will be the club I always support.

"I'm absolutely delighted to see the progress they have made over recent years and the new stadium coming. But as a manager you have to put that to one side and divorce yourself from all of it.

"For me it's just another game against a top six team."

Hughton has enjoyed success against Arsenal as a player and manager.

He said: "As a player I remember scoring two goals against them in one game – which for a full-back was a real achievement.

"That would be right up there. I remember we had also some pretty epic League Cup ties against them but I missed out on those.

"But I've also had some good memories as a manager too. At Newcastle we managed to beat them 1-0 at the Emirates. And at Norwich too we beat them 1-0 at Carrow Road.

"As with most managers at the levels I've managed any success against the big clubs is a big success because it doesn't happen so often."