I played in Arsenal vs Tottenham and Newcastle vs Sunderland, but a fierce derby beats them all.

Tottenham's rivalry with Chelsea is bigger than the North London derby… and it's not even close.

That is the opinion of the former Spurs forward Darren Bentwho has expressed his opinion on which were the fiercest matches of his career.

The 40-year-old is no stranger to playing in some of the UK's biggest matches, having scored in the North London, Tyne-Wear and East Anglian derbies.

His goal in a 4-4 draw at home Arsenal October 2008 remains one of the best games in the Premier League, a game that will live long in the memories of Tottenham fans.

However it was Spurs' collides with him Blues that the approval has been given, due to the intensity and hatred of fans and players.

His opinion comes after Troy Deeney insisted that Aston Villa's derby against Birmingham is the largest in england – a claim that surprised talkSPORT presenter Simon Jordan.

Bent never played in the heated Midlands clash during his four years at Villa Park due to the Blues being in the Championship.

Speaking on talkSPORT Drive, the former Sunderland and Ipswich marksman reflected on the main rivalries of his 17-year career.

He said: “I've played in Ipswich vs Norwich, Tottenham vs Arsenal, Sunderland vs Newcastle and Derby vs (Nottingham) Forest.

“When I think about derbies, Spurs vs Arsenal was fantastic, (but) at that particular moment, Arsenal were miles ahead of where we were.

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“We celebrated a point as if we had won the game, because they were very good.

“But when it comes to grudges, confrontation and that real anger, Chelsea vs Spurs was ridiculous, I promise you.”

He continued: “It was always crazy at Stamford Bridge. Arsenal and Spurs are a rivalry (because they are so close to each other).

“But I always felt a bit more pain from the fans and the players, it was always Chelsea, it was the games where you said 'Ooh'.”

And it was his away goal against Chelsea in a 1-1 draw in the 2008/09 season that meant the most to him.

The ex-England The international commented: “I enjoyed them all, (but) scoring at Stamford Bridge for Spurs was always good because of the rivalry.”

Bent then gave his opinion on why Deeney He chose the Second City derby as the most important.

To which he said: “He's from Birmingham, he's a Birmingham fan! I think that's probably why.”

“I would have loved to play in that derby, but I was lucky to play some really good ones.”