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Jermaine Jenas hailed William Gallas' captaincy credentials after the defender led Tottenham to their first victory at Arsenal for 17 years.
Manager Harry Redknapp looks set to retain Gallas as skipper for the foreseeable future after his controversial decision to hand the 33-year-old the armband was vindicated in Saturday's 3-2 win.
The thought of Gallas captaining Tottenham would have been anathema to some of the club's fans following his summer defection from the club's arch-rivals.
But the Frenchman went a long way to winning over his critics with a heroic performance at the Emirates Stadium as Spurs completed one of the greatest comebacks in north London derby history after being 2-0 down.
Midfielder Jenas said: "Absolutely brilliant he was. From start to finish, he was fantastic for us and I was so pleased for him.
"The pressure was on him, everyone was watching him and he got the armband and led by example.
"He is fantastic. He led by example and he was a voice in my ear, especially in that second half when the team needed me to sit a little bit more and graft in front of them and try and get around Cesc (Fabregas).
"He was in my ear constantly trying to help me because it's not natural to me. And I did it.
"He is a laugh as well. He has come to Spurs and wants to work and win games and he has given us that experience that we probably needed."
Gallas showed great maturity at the final whistle on Saturday, refusing to join in his team-mates' jubilant celebrations in front of the visiting fans.
He was nevertheless "over the moon", according to Jenas, who added: "He's just said to me, 'I am so happy, I am going to hang out with my kids now'."
Gallas had the last laugh on Saturday after being jeered throughout the match and snubbed during the pre-match handshake by former team-mate Samir Nasri.
Defensive partner and match-winner Younes Kaboul said: "William is an experienced player: he is very clever, very intelligent.
"It is normal in football that the other fans will boo him, but going over that, those people are cheap - they do not remember well what William did for Arsenal before.
"They should respect him for that. William won and that was the answer."
Manager Harry Redknapp looks set to retain Gallas as skipper for the foreseeable future after his controversial decision to hand the 33-year-old the armband was vindicated in Saturday's 3-2 win.
The thought of Gallas captaining Tottenham would have been anathema to some of the club's fans following his summer defection from the club's arch-rivals.
But the Frenchman went a long way to winning over his critics with a heroic performance at the Emirates Stadium as Spurs completed one of the greatest comebacks in north London derby history after being 2-0 down.
Midfielder Jenas said: "Absolutely brilliant he was. From start to finish, he was fantastic for us and I was so pleased for him.
"The pressure was on him, everyone was watching him and he got the armband and led by example.
"He is fantastic. He led by example and he was a voice in my ear, especially in that second half when the team needed me to sit a little bit more and graft in front of them and try and get around Cesc (Fabregas).
"He was in my ear constantly trying to help me because it's not natural to me. And I did it.
"He is a laugh as well. He has come to Spurs and wants to work and win games and he has given us that experience that we probably needed."
Gallas showed great maturity at the final whistle on Saturday, refusing to join in his team-mates' jubilant celebrations in front of the visiting fans.
He was nevertheless "over the moon", according to Jenas, who added: "He's just said to me, 'I am so happy, I am going to hang out with my kids now'."
Gallas had the last laugh on Saturday after being jeered throughout the match and snubbed during the pre-match handshake by former team-mate Samir Nasri.
Defensive partner and match-winner Younes Kaboul said: "William is an experienced player: he is very clever, very intelligent.
"It is normal in football that the other fans will boo him, but going over that, those people are cheap - they do not remember well what William did for Arsenal before.
"They should respect him for that. William won and that was the answer."
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