The Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal rivalry has eternally been felt like second nature by most North London football fans. This rift was evident in a 2003 survey where the majority of Arsenal supporters said they most disliked Tottenham Hotspur and the large majority of Spurs fans named Arsenal as their main rivals. Yet for all the football-agnostic North Londoners, who may vaguely know of this long-standing rift, I wanted to ask the questions, where did this passionate rivalry come from and why is it still around today?
It all began in 1913 with Arsenal’s move from Plumstead, Kent to Highbury in North London, just 6.4 kilometres away from Tottenham’s White Hart Lane stadium, in order to extend their catchment area for fans. This was much to the dismay of Spurs supporters who believed that Islington was their fan territory and felt threatened by Arsenal’s presence.
This initial disdain only grew with time and became fully-fledged after World War One during a vote for two 1st division Football League spots. One was given to Chelsea due to their position in the league and the other to Arsenal, despite Tottenham’s placement as 20th in the first division and Arsenal’s fifth in the second division. This outcome provoked outrage yet again amongst Spurs supporters who believed unfounded claims that Sir Henry Norris took part in underhand dealings to bring about Arsenal’s dramatic promotion into the higher division and only heightened the tension and rivalry between the two North London sides.
Fast forward to the present day, where 187 games have been played between the two sides since their first football league match (as of the 12th of July 2020). Arsenal has won 77, Tottenham- 59 with 51 matches drawn, yet the bitter rivalry is still raging as strong as ever. With the highly-anticipated North London Derby this Saturday, Spurs are backed to win, as they are currently first in the premier league table after a draw against Chelsea however the Derby is likely to be an intense and hard-fought game.
“It is something you kind of get born with- a tremendous North London neighbours' rivalry” -Arsenal supporter, Paul Saunders
But what of the rivalry? I truly believe that the reason why this bitter rivalry has stood the test of time is due to the passion, intensity and drama it brings to the game and makes football fans and leisurely viewers alike cling to the edge of their seats with excitement. Rivalries such as the one between Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur bring a much-needed sense of tradition, history and avidity to a constantly modernising sport and I think due to this, the match on Saturday certainly won’t be one to miss.
