Festive spirit arrives early as Arsenal, Spurs and Man Utd enemies forget rivalries in heartwarming clip

Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur stars have put aside this season's feisty North London rivalry in favour of some early festive spirit as they unite to tell the heartwarming 'Dream Big' story of the Sports Direct Christmas campaign.

The sports clothing retailer has debuted its Christmas campaign today and a star-studded cast features in the 60-second clip from across a number of sports. Among them are Gunners men Gabriel Jesus, Aaron Ramsdale and Eddie Nketiah, as well as Spurs marquee summer signing James Maddison.

The North London stars are joined by Manchester United midfielder Mason Mount and Crystal Palace forward Eberechi Eze as the group of England international players test out their acting skills in the video. Lionesses Alessia Russo and Lauren Hemp are also involved in the campaign, as well as sprinter Zharnel Hughes and boxing champ Conor Benn.

The ad was rolled out during ITV flagship shows Good Morning Britain and Lorraine on Thursday. The tale, which is directed by Fred Again's creative director LOOSE, follows the story of young Macy as she fulfills her festive wish of becoming the best sports star in the world.

After outboxing Benn and sprinting past Hughes, Macy steps in for Ramsdale to save a top-corner shot from Russo, assisted by Mount. The youngster then joins Eze, Nketiah and Maddison for a singalong before receiving a present from Jesus.

Beckie Stanion, Chief Marketing Officer Sports Direct, said: “2023 has been a monumental year for sport, and with the Euros and the Olympics coming up where we’ll all be rooting for our young home-grown stars, this year we wanted our advert to celebrate the sporting prowess of this group to show aspiring athletes everywhere that they too can shatter expectations and dream big.

"Sports Direct believes that sport has a unique power to bring out the best in all of us and this advert aims to champion the legend in everyone, so our audience are ready to reach their next sport and fitness dream.”