Sir Mo Farah swallows Arsenal allegiance to accept Newcastle United gift ahead of Great North Run

A bashful Sir Mo Farah was gifted a Newcastle United shirt by Great North Run legend Sir Brendan Foster ahead of this weekend's event, despite the heralded Olympian being a huge Arsenal fan.

Sir Mo will be one of 60,000 people taking part in Sunday's iconic event and has confirmed it will be his last race as a glittering running career comes to an end. The 40-year-old has won the Great North Run six times and has become a leading face of the race over the past decade.

In preparation for this weekend, Farah sat down with event founder Sir Brendan to chat about the years gone by. The Geordie former Olympian said: "Mo, you've won it six times, you're now an honourary Geordie, we love you up there. To recognise your association with our event, there's a few gifts in the box which I'm sure you'll enjoy."

The runner was gifted a selection of posters, a Geordie phrasebook, a signed Mark Knopfler vinyl of 'Local Hero' for his 'man cave' and even a Greggs voucher with Foster joking it made him 'a proper Geordie'.

Also in the goodie bag was a Newcastle United shirt, handed over by Magpies supporter Sir Brendan with a huge grin on his face. The famous black-and-white kit even included 'Sir Mo' on the back with the number 23 for his retirement year.

Farah gracefully accepted the shirt but was perhaps a little hesitant to show too much affinity for the football club, given his love for Premier League rivals Arsenal.

Reacting to the meeting between Sir Brendan and Sir Mo, Twitter users labelled the interaction as 'wonderful' and said they were 'loving Mo singing Toon Toon'. One person said: "Sir Mo, you do a better Geordie accent than Sting! Thank you for everything you have done for your Sport and for others."

Another added: "I’m obsessed that they gave Mo Farah a Greggs gift card, proper Geordie."

The runner has regularly been seen at the Emirates Stadium over the years and regularly shared behind-the-scenes snaps of him enjoying watching the Gunners play at home. On Sunday, Farah shared a video of himself celebrating the side's last-gasp 2-1 win over Manchester United as he did a jig wearing his Arsenal shirt. He chanted: "Shut up! They've scored again! Aarsenal! Aaarsenal!"

Watch: ShotsTV hears the inspiring stories behind the faces taking on the Great North Run

Speaking toThe Guardian last year, Farah admitted that he would have loved to have had a football career before setting off on his running path. He said: "I would have loved to play for Arsenal, but I was never good enough.

"I played at school and for the local club until I was 14, but I was only good because I could cross the ball and run forward and run back. I didn’t have any other skills. I joined a running club instead."