North London Derby

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

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. The first meeting between the two teams was a friendly on 19 November 1887, when Arsenal were located in Plumstead and known as Royal Arsenal. The match, played at Spurs' ground at Tottenham Marshes, was abandoned 15 minutes before it was due to end 'owing to darkness' with Spurs winning 2–1. The first completed match between the two teams was held the following February in Plumstead; Tottenham could only field nine players, and were beaten 6–2. The two teams competed together in the United League starting in the 1896–97 season. The first meeting in competition was on 2 November 1896; Arsenal won 2–1. Another notable match was in 1898 played at the Spurs ground at Northumberland Park, attended by a record crowd of 15,000, and the refreshment stand collapsed when spectators climbed up onto its roof, prompting Spurs to start looking for a new ground. The first League match between the clubs was in the First Division, on 4 December 1909; Arsenal won 1–0. The rivalry escalated in 1919 when, after World War I, the First Division was to be expanded by two teams, and the League held a meeting of the clubs to decide the two clubs by means of a vote. Arsenal won the vote by eighteen votes to Spurs' eight and were thus elected to the First Division. The decision infuriated Tottenham and their supporters. The first fully competitive derby match after Arsenal's 1913 move to north London was a First Division match that finished 2–1 to Tottenham, on 15 January 1921 at White Hart Lane. In 1935 Arsenal registered its biggest ever win over Spurs in a 6–0 rout away at White Hart Lane. Relations between the two clubs improved somewhat after the Second World War, after Tottenham allowed Arsenal to play their home matches at White Hart Lane while Highbury was requisitioned as an ARP station and subsequently bombed.

In Their Own Story

In 1910, the club's rowing and sailing departments were founded. In 1913, the basketball branch was founded, along with its athletics and swimming departments, the former being the first basketball team established within a sports club in the Ottoman Empire. In 1928, both men's and women's volleyball departments were founded along with the table tennis team. The men's football department has won a total of 54 domestic trophies, including a record 28 Turkish championship titles (19 Turkish Super League, six National Division, and three Turkish Football Championship titles), making the club the most successful in the country. The club is also leading the all-time table of the Turkish Super League. In international club football, Fenerbahçe won the Balkans Cup in 1968, the first international trophy won by a Turkish football team. The men's basketball team became European champions in the 2016–17 season and runners-up in 2015–16 and 2017–18, playing in five consecutive EuroLeague Final Fours (2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019) and another in 2023. In 2023, the women's basketball team won the EuroLeague by defeating ÇBK Mersin Yenişehir 99–60 in the all-Turkish final, making Fenerbahçe the first and only sports club in history to be crowned European champions in both men's and women's basketball. In the same year, Fenerbahçe became the first and only Turkish club to win the FIBA Europe SuperCup, defeating France's LDLC ASVEL Féminin with a point differential of 57, a record in the SuperCup's history. In volleyball, Fenerbahçe became the first Turkish club ever to be crowned World champions in an Olympic team sport by winning the FIVB Volleyball Women's Club World Championship undefeated in 2010. They also won the CEV Champions League in the 2011–12 season and the CEV Cup in 2014. The men's volleyball team won the CEV Challenge Cup in the 2013–14 season, the same day the women's team won the CEV Cup, making Fenerbahçe the only sports club in Turkey and one of few in Europe with European titles in both men's and women's volleyball. The table tennis women's team won the ETTU Cup two times in a row (2011–12 and 2012–13), a Turkish record, and won the Champions League title in 2015 undefeated, achieving the only Triple Crown ever for a Turkish table tennis team.

Reader's Guide

As of 22 February 2026, 199 games have been played between the two teams since their first game in the Football League in 1909, with 86 wins for Arsenal, 62 wins for Tottenham and 52 games drawn. When games played before both joined the Football League are included, 213 games have been played, with Arsenal winning 91, Tottenham 68, and 55 drawn. Notable matches include the games in which Arsenal won the league at White Hart Lane in 1971 and their invincible campaign in 2004, 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. The highest-scoring game in the North London derby is the 5–4 win by Arsenal at White Hart Lane in November 2004. The fixture's top scorer is Harry Kane with fourteen goals, having overtaken Bobby Smith and Emmanuel Adebayor, who have ten goals each. 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.

Did You Know?

• The first meeting between the two teams was a friendly on 19 November 1887, abandoned 15 minutes early due to darkness with Spurs winning 2–1.
• The highest-scoring game in the North London derby is the 5–4 win by Arsenal at White Hart Lane in November 2004.
• The fixture's top scorer is Harry Kane with fourteen goals.
• On 31 July 2025, the first North London derby was held outside of the United Kingdom at Kai Tak Sports Park in Hong Kong as part of their pre-season fixtures; the match was won by Tottenham.