The North London Derby is one of the fiercest derbies not only in the region but on the international scale as well. The North London Derby is contested by the two most successful and popular teams in the region: Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur.
The environment and the atmosphere in the stadium when these two sides come against each other are unreal and completely out of this world. The excitement in the fans for their team and the hate for the other go hand in hand. They exchange slogans between them to express their feelings.
Sometimes these expressions get out of control and the derby becomes a little fierce and violent. Let us take a closer look at the North London Derby and get to know more about both the teams and the totality of the rivalry between these two neighboring teams.
Arsenal
The Arsenal Football Club or as the fans like to call it ‘The Gunners’ are an association football club situated in the Emirates Stadium in the region of Holloway, London. The club has won a total of 13 Premier League titles since its foundation 135 years ago.
Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham Hotspur Football Club a.k.a The Lilywhites is a football club situated in Tottenham, London. The team competes in the domestic Premier League and has won two titles since its foundation 140 years ago.
Origin of the Rivalry
The teams first faced each other in the First Division Football League on 4th December 1909. But the rivalry didn’t take form until the year 1913. This was when Arsenal relocated their home ground to the Arsenal Stadium in Highbury which was just 4 miles away from Spurs’ home ground, White Hart Lane.
This move by Arsenal left the Spurs fans agitated and were visible in their hostile reaction to the decision. Since then the rivalry escalated very quickly and the two teams became fated rivals of each other. Their matches would pull out a huge audience every time and with that a fierce atmosphere to play and watch.
Statistics on the Rivalry
The two have fought against each other in a competitive environment a total of 191 times. Arsenal has the upper hand on Hotspur as they have won 79 matches compared to the 61 wins under the name of Spurs.
Arsenal has scored a total of 290 goals in these 191 matches while Tottenham Hotspur was able to score 255 goals. There has been a total of 51 draw matches between the two. Harry Kane is the top scorer in the rivalry scoring 13 goals.
Recent meetings
The teams last collided in a Premier League matchup on 5th May 2022 where Hotspurs humiliated Arsenal in a 3-0 win against them. They are fated to clash again in another Premier League matchup on 1st October 2022.
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