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The crunch of Wilson Palacios’s tackles as he attempts to upend Arsenal will conceal a mutual respect between the Tottenham Hotspur midfield player and his opponents this lunchtime.

Had things been different, Palacios might have been lining up beside Cesc Fàbregas in the heart of Arsenal’s midfield at the Emirates Stadium, rather than feverishly snapping at the Spain player’s ankles, a technique the Honduran calls “toquecito”.

The pair became friendly during Palacios’s two-week trial with Arsenal two years ago, but Arsène Wenger passed up the opportunity to sign the type of combative player with a relish for all things English that his team have needed for many years.

Wenger cited his abundance of players in that position, but the merits of his decision were questioned even before Palacios returned to North London in January, having carved a reputation for hounding and thundering into his opponents with Wigan Athletic. “I don’t half like doing that,” Palacios said, as his eyes light up and an infectious smile emerges. “Sometimes, unintentionally, you give your opponent a ‘toquecito’, a little touch. You don’t go out deliberately to do it.

“Coming up against Fàbregas is an honour. But my tactic is the same, get close to him — all of them.”

Palacios grew up watching Patrick Vieira’s intense duels with Roy Keane and football fanaticism will grip Honduras even at an unearthly hour this morning.

Ten of the national team that qualified for the World Cup finals next year play abroad and Palacios has rapidly become the best known. “It will be an intense, beautiful game,” he said. “Arsenal’s players are fantastic, I can’t say that [they don’t have a player like me], but they have my complete respect. But we are the best. This team are not far away. Tottenham have the team good enough to be champions. That is what we have to aim for.”

Finishing above Arsenal in May, for the first time since 1995, would be a decent start. They came close three years ago, only to be left with a sickening feeling when illness spread through the camp on the final day of the season and they lost 2-1 away to West Ham United.

Only Manchester United have outclassed Tottenham this season and the North London club hope defeat by Stoke City last week was an aberration. Palacios’s authority is at the hub of their success. Harry Redknapp, the Tottenham manager, claims that the club have lacked a player such as him since Graham Roberts was pounding around the pitch about 25 years ago and that they should no longer be considered as having a “soft centre”.

Palacios, with broad shoulders and a powerful frame, provides the steely platform from which Aaron Lennon and Luka Modric, both absent through injury today, can drive forward with confidence. So far, the £14 million paid to Wigan has been worth every penny. “I want to be known as the Wilson of Tottenham, Wilson the everyday worker,” he said. “It is hard to comment on the past, but now we have an attitude that everyone puts in effort to win the ball back.”

His tackles have come at a cost. Last season, he racked up 13 yellow cards and one red, but he says that he has learnt to be more cautious and selective, which has been reflected in the three cautions that have come his way this term. “I am a bit more careful about diving in, now I am used to football here,” he said.

“Children play this way in Honduras. Football is very raw, very strong, but there is plenty of technique, which blended with the toughness, suits the Premier League. Maybe that is why Maynor Figueroa [the Wigan Athletic left back] and I have had success.

“But the speed and intelligence of the players here is something that hits you. We had to adapt very quickly. I like to attack the ball but sometimes you have to be really careful — you overcommit and then leave your team with two against one.”

Like so many hopeful players, he was whisked around Europe having trials, first with Red Star Belgrade, then Monaco, who recommended him to Wenger. Just when Palacios was to return home, the Arsenal manager telephoned Steve Bruce, the Birmingham City manager at the time, to tell him that the “boy has something”.

Palacios said: “It was difficult living out of a suitcase but I was pursuing my dream. I felt a bit disappointed at first as I really wanted to stay at Arsenal. But I thank them. I don’t think that I have to prove anything to another manager. I constantly have to prove to myself that I am going in the right direction, which means the team is doing well.”

A new contract would be nice, he says, but the deal today will be stopping Arsenal, who represent a substantial test, but remain vulnerable to an aerial threat and lapses in concentration. David Bentley, who memorably scored in the 4-4 draw a year ago, will be tasked with delivering crosses for Peter Crouch. “That draw gave us a bit of belief,” Redknapp said. “This season or next, there will be a change in the top four, because others are getting stronger.”

Palacios and Tottenham hope they are the team to break into the elite.