Good Morning Britain presenter Piers Morgan has explained why he is a diehard Arsenal fan - despite his father being a Tottenham Hotspur supporter.

Controversial figure Morgan regularly parades his allegiance to the Gunners on Twitter and TV.

But it appears the 55-year-old could have gone down a very different path from a young age, with his dad Glynne following bitter rivals Spurs.

Ahead of today's north London derby, Morgan told talkSPORT in a nostalgic interview: “My team is Arsenal and it goes back to 1971 when we won the double and I was six years old. Charlie George scored that amazing 25-yard screamer at Wembley. And that was it. I was in love. With Arsenal.

Piers Morgan regularly speaks about his love for Arsenal

“With Charlie, with Frank McLintock, with Bob Wilson, with George Graham and Pat Rice. And that was the start of a 49-year love affair, with all the torment that love brings.

“The complication was that my dad was and still is a lifelong Spurs fan. He was running a pub down in Sussex and took his eye off the ball; before he knew it…

“Charlie George was so beloved. There have been lots of great players, but when you talk about the most beloved, it tends to be people like Charlie George or David Rocastle or Ian Wright or Ray Parlour or Martin Keown. Not necessarily the ones you may think, but those who have a real connection from the fans.

Morgan grew up idolising Gunners legend Charlie George

“In Charlie’s case, he had an extraordinary story. He was the fan from the North Bank who scored the winning goal in the FA Cup final. The biggest cup competition, arguably in world football.

“The Wembley FA Cup days were so brilliant; it was a national event, the build up, the whole day, over 20 million people watching. It was like watching one of the Muhammad Ali fights.

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“I remember my dad, god bless him a Spurs fan. I can remember the smell, the noise. There were no all-seaters.

“I was standing in the North Bank with my dad and the crowd was swaying and the beer was everywhere and the smell of the hotdogs…”

Kick off from the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium will be at 4:30pm this afternoon.