North London Derby

Lore & Background

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 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, which 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, where the refreshment stand collapsed when spectators climbed 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 did not begin until 1913, when Arsenal moved from Plumstead to Highbury, just four miles from Tottenham's White Hart Lane, a move resented and opposed by Tottenham.

The two teams first faced each other as north London rivals in a War Relief Fund friendly on 22 August 1914 at White Hart Lane; Arsenal won 5–1. 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, a decision that 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. Notable matches include Arsenal winning 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 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.

Reader's Guide

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. Since 1950, there has only been one season (1977–78) where Tottenham and Arsenal have not been in the same division, meaning fixtures between the two are regular. Players who transfer between the two teams receive a bad reception from their former fans; an example was defender Sol Campbell, who was nicknamed 'Judas' by Tottenham fans after he crossed the divide in 2001.

On 30 April 2017, Tottenham beat Arsenal 2–0 in the final North London Derby at White Hart Lane, guaranteeing Tottenham finishing above Arsenal in the league for the first time in 22 seasons. Tottenham would then achieve a streak of six consecutive finishes above their rivals (from 2016–17 to 2021–22). 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.

Origins and Territorial Tension

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 was abandoned 15 minutes before it was due to end 'owing to darkness' with Spurs winning 2–1. However, a proper rivalry did not begin until 1913, when Arsenal moved from the Manor Ground, Plumstead to Arsenal Stadium, Highbury, just four miles from Tottenham's White Hart Lane, a move resented and opposed by Tottenham as they considered Highbury their territory.

The rivalry escalated in 1919 when, after World War I, the First Division was to be expanded by two teams. Arsenal won a vote for the second spot over Tottenham, despite finishing sixth in Division Two. The decision infuriated Tottenham and their supporters. It has been frequently alleged that Arsenal chairman Sir Henry Norris used underhand dealings, although nothing has been proven.

Defining Matches and Dramatic Encounters

Notable matches include Arsenal winning 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 is the 5–4 win by Arsenal at White Hart Lane in November 2004. In 1935 Arsenal registered its biggest ever win over Spurs in a 6–0 rout away at White Hart Lane. This 6-0 result remains the biggest win by any team in the derby.