Former Arsenal defender Justin Hoyte was delighted to see his new Middlesbrough teammates defeat Tottenham yesterday at the Riverside.

"I got a great reaction from the fans and I'd like to thank them for their support," Hoyte told Boro's website. "Watching the game today I can see there's great support here and I can't wait to play in front of them.

"I was at Sunderland for a while so I know the North East quite well, it's tough because I was an Arsenal supporter as well but you have to make decisions in football, and this is a new chapter in my career.

"Arsenal are a great club and always will be and hopefully Middlesbrough will get to that level too. I was a London boy, hopefully I'll be a North East boy now!"

He added: "I've played with Stewart Downing, Andrew Taylor and Gary O'Neil in the England U21s and I've also played with Jeremie Aliadiere and Julio Arca so I already know quite a few of the lads and I'm sure they'll help me settle in just fine."