THE irony of a trip to Arsenal being Paul Robinson’s first involvement in the Burnley squad is not lost on the former Tottenham Hotspur keeper.

“There’s a few people with mixed emotions about me at the moment,” said the 36-year-old, referring to Blackburn Rovers being his last club.

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"There might be another lot on Saturday who might have a few things to say to me - as usual.”

There is no love lost between the two London clubs, and Robinson is expected to be reminded of his Spurs connections when the Clarets face the Gunners at the Emirates in the FA Cup fourth round tomorrow.

But the stopper admitted he fell out of love with football as his time at Ewood Park came to an end.

He needed time to rekindle the flame. And before Christmas he was ready to give it a second chance.

“It was early November when I decided to have another go and started to hit the gym hard and getting fit, I didn’t envisage I’d be at the Emirates come the end of January,” said Robinson.

“But it’s great. It’s fantastic. For me to get the buzz back for playing again, there’s nowhere better.”

It’s not the only game Robinson has earmarked.

“The 5th of March is it?,” said the keeper of the derby with bitter rivals Rovers - his first taste of the fixture from the opposite camp after seven years at Ewood Park.

“I’m looking forward to it. They’re always great occasions and great games and hopefully it is.”

Robinson has played down the significance of his move between the two clubs, believing his break from the game negates any sense of ‘crossing a divide’.

But former team-mates have been quick to voice their opinion through social media, with David Dunn asking Michel Salgado for his thoughts on Twitter, attaching a picture of Robinson signing his Clarets contract.

Salgado replied: “No way, I can’t believe Paul is signing for that team”, to which Robinson said: “Obviously there’s been mixed opinions.

“I spoke to Dunny yesterday in the car on the way home. He phoned me the day I signed and I tried to phone him back and it just went straight to answerphone. I thought he’d blocked me. But I spoke to him yesterday.”

Robinson is not the only one to have recent experience in the rival camp, with both midfielder David Jones and defender Michael Keane having loan spells there in their final seasons before joining Burnley from Wigan and Manchester United respectively.

And as he prepares to write what he describes as “a new chapter” in his life and football career, Robinson says it is a positive to be welcomed by familiar faces.

“It’s nice,” he said.

"It’s a good dressing room. I know a few of the boys but the camaraderie of the dressing room is very good - there’s a good team spirit here.

“I was out of the game and it doesn’t seem to me that I’ve made a cross, as such, to rivals, but obviously it is.

“For me, my time at Blackburn was done. It wasn’t my decision to end my time at Blackburn. I had good and bad times and I wish people well there; there’s a lot of good people at the club.

“But for me, now, I’ve joined a new ambitious club, a new chapter in my life and my career and I’m just looking forward to the future.

“With the team up in third in the league and the string of results that we’re putting together it’s a team that’s going places.”