The North London Derby is the name of the
football
local derby between
Tottenham Hotspur and
Arsenal.
History
The first meeting between the two sides was a friendly on
November
11, 1887, when
Arsenal were known as Royal Arsenal. The match was abandoned 15 minutes before
it was due to end "owing to darkness" with Spurs leading 2-1. The first League
match between the two was in the
First Division, on
December 4,
1909; Arsenal won
1-0.
However, the fierce rivalry between the two teams did not begin until
World War
I. First, in 1913,
Arsenal moved from their
South
London home of
Woolwich to
Arsenal Stadium,
Highbury,
just a few miles from Tottenham's
White Hart Lane. But the bad feelings were cemented in
1919 when the First
Division was to be expanded by two teams. 19th-placed
Chelsea
were allowed to stay as they were relegated, but rather than the other relegated
team – 20th-placed Tottenham – or
Barnsley who were 3rd in the
Second Division, it was decided that Arsenal would be promoted, despite them
finishing 5th.
It is alleged that Arsenal chairman
Sir
Henry Norris used underhand dealings in order to bring this about, although
nothing has been proven. Tottenham were promoted back into the top flight after
taking the Second Division title the next season, and the rivalry has continued
ever since.
As with most
major football rivalries, there is much banter and gloating between the two
sets of fans, many of whom work and even live together, and players who transfer
between the two teams receive a bad reception from their former fans, the most
recent example being defender
Sol
Campbell.
The
2005-06 season sees the final North London derby at Highbury, before Arsenal
move to their new home, the
Emirates Stadium.
Statistics
As of
October 29, 2005,
there have been 150 competitive first-class meetings between the two teams since
1909, of which
Arsenal have won 63 and Tottenham 49.
The most goals in one game were scored in the closely contested 5-4 Arsenal
Premiership victory at White Hart Lane on
November
13, 2004. The
biggest winning margin was 6-0 to Arsenal on
March 6,
1935, although
Tottenham have twice won 5-0 (December
25, 1911 and
April 4,
1983).
| |
Arsenal wins |
Draws |
Spurs wins |
| League |
56 |
36 |
45 |
| FA Cup |
3 |
0 |
2 |
| League Cup |
4 |
1 |
2 |
| Charity Shield |
0 |
1 |
0 |
| Total |
63 |
38 |
49 |
