North London derby

North London derby
Gilberto Silva (far left) and Ledley King (far right), captaining Arsenal and Tottenham respectively at White Hart Lane, on 21 April 2007. The match ended in a 2–2 draw.
LocationNorth London
Teams
First meeting4 December 1909
Football League First Division
Arsenal 1–0 Tottenham Hotspur
Latest meeting15 September 2024
Premier League
Tottenham Hotspur 0–1 Arsenal
Next meeting14 January 2025
Premier League
Arsenal v Tottenham Hotspur
StadiumsEmirates Stadium (Arsenal)
Tottenham Hotspur Stadium (Spurs)
Statistics
Meetings total196
Most winsArsenal (83)
Most player appearancesDavid O'Leary (Arsenal)
(35)[1]
Top scorerHarry Kane (Tottenham)
(14 goals)
All-time seriesArsenal: 83
Drawn: 52
Spurs: 61
Largest victoryTottenham Hotspur 0–6 Arsenal
Football League First Division
(6 March 1935)[2]
North London derby is located in Greater London
Arsenal
Arsenal
Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham Hotspur
Satellite map of North London showing locations of Arsenal's old Highbury Stadium (red) and Tottenham's old White Hart Lane ground (white)

The North London derby is the meeting of the association football clubs Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur, both of which are based in North London, England. Fans of both clubs consider the other to be their main rivals, and the derby is considered by many to be one of the fiercest derbies in the world.[3] Although the two teams first played each other in 1887, the rivalry did not begin until 1913 when Arsenal moved their ground to North London from Woolwich, south of the River Thames.

As of 15 September 2024, 196 games have been played between the two teams since their first game in the Football League in 1909, with 83 wins for Arsenal, 61 wins for Tottenham and 52 games drawn. When games played before both joined the Football League are included, 210 games have been played, with Arsenal winning 88, Tottenham 67, and 55 drawn.[4]

Notable matches of the North London derby include the games in which Arsenal won the league at White Hart Lane in 1971 and their invincible campaign in 2004,[5] Tottenham beating Arsenal 5–0 at home in 1983 and Arsenal winning by the same score away in 1978, and Tottenham beating Arsenal 3–1 at the semi-final of the 1990–91 FA Cup, which they went on to win.[6] The highest-scoring game in the North London derby is the 5–4 win by Arsenal at White Hart Lane in November 2004.[7] The fixture's top scorer is Harry Kane with fourteen goals (seven from the penalty spot), having overtaken Bobby Smith and Emmanuel Adebayor, who have ten goals each.[8][9]

Arsenal play their home games at the Emirates Stadium in Islington, while Tottenham Hotspur are based at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in the neighbouring borough of Haringey. The two stadiums are 4 miles (6.4 km) apart.

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference Arseweb was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference Stats was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ "50 Greatest Rivalries in World Football". Bleacher Report. 30 May 2011. Retrieved 22 December 2020.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference Stat was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Eccleshare, Charlie (17 November 2017). "Arsenal's best ever north London derbies against Tottenham: ranked". The Daily Telegraph.
  6. ^ Bloomfield, Craig (20 April 2011). "Tottenham v Arsenal: 10 memorable north London derbies". Talk Sport.
  7. ^ "Tottenham 4-5 Arsenal". BBC. 13 November 2004.
  8. ^ "Harry Kane sets north London derby goalscoring record". Press Association. 6 December 2020. Retrieved 6 December 2020 – via BT Sport.
  9. ^ Steel, Andrew (6 December 2020). "Kane sets all-time north London derby scoring record with superb strike for Tottenham against Arsenal". Goal.