Premier League - Football: All you need to know about the North London derby

bet365 News Team Published: Sep 28 2022 11:52

The North London derby is one of the fiercest rivalries in English football, with Arsenal and Tottenham regularly doing battle at the top of end of the Premier League.

Arsenal won the most recent meeting between the two sides, claiming a 3-1 victory at the Emirates Stadium on 1st October 2022, a result that kept them top of the Premier League standings.

Here is all you need to know about the rivalry between the two teams.

How many times has the North London derby been played?

The first game between the two teams took place in 1887 but the rivalry really started when Arsenal moved from Woolwich in south London to Highbury in 1913.

The pair had met in the Football League for the first time four years earlier and they have played each other 192 times since.

The only season since 1950 that the two teams have not faced each other in the league was the 1977/78 campaign following Tottenham's relegation to the Second Division. They gained promotion straight back up the following season.

Who is the most successful team in the North London derby?

Of those 192, Arsenal have been the most successful, winning on 80 occasions, while Tottenham have won 61 times. There have been 51 draws.

In recent years, it has been home teams who have tended to dominate the fixture.

Tottenham have won just twice at Arsenal since the formation of the Premier League in 1992, the latest win coming in November 2010, when they recovered from a two-goal deficit to triumph 3-2. Younes Kaboul scored the winning goal.

Arsenal have also had a poor record of late at Tottenham, whether they have been playing at White Hart Lane, Wembley or the new Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

The Gunners have won on just one of their last 14 visits.

What is the highest winning margin in the North London derby?

Both teams have won 5-0. Arsenal's victory came at White Hart Lane in 1978 when Alan Sunderland became only the second Gunners player and the last from either side to score a hat-trick in the fixture.

Tottenham's 5-0 win came five years later when Chris Hughton and Mark Falco both scored twice.

The highest scoring game came in November 2004 when Arsenal won 5-4 at White Hart Lane.

Arsenal have won the title at Tottenham twice, firstly in 1971 when Ray Kennedy's goal completed the first leg of the League and FA Cup double, which their rivals had achieved ten years previously, and in 2004, when the Gunners went on to complete their unbeaten Invincibles season.

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Have any players featured for both Arsenal and Tottenham in the North London derby?

No player has left Arsenal and gone straight to Tottenham since 1968 when Laurie Brown departed as part of a deal that saw Jimmy Robertson, who had scored for Spurs in their FA Cup final win over Chelsea the previous year, move in the opposite direction.

Rohan Ricketts, David Bentley, William Gallas and Emmanuel Adebayor have all been at Arsenal and subsequently joined Spurs.

Robertson and Adebayor are the only players to have scored in the fixture for both clubs.

Former Tottenham manager Terry Neill signed three Spurs players after taking the helm at Highbury, defenders Steve Walford and Willie Young, but most notably legendary Tottenham goalkeeper Pat Jennings.

The most infamous switch came when Tottenham captain Sol Campbell moved to Arsenal on a Bosman transfer in 2001, a decision that still grates Spurs supporters to this day.

Have Arsenal and Tottenham met in other competitions?

Tottenham and Arsenal have never faced each other in European competition, but there have been some epic domestic cup meetings.

In 1987, they needed a League Cup semi-final replay to separate them after Spurs won the first leg 1-0 at Highbury and lost the second 2-1 at White Hart Lane.

The decider also took place at Spurs, but a late goal from David Rocastle sent Arsenal through to the final, where they beat Liverpool.

Spurs gained some revenge four years later in the first FA Cup semi-final to be played at Wembley, when a famous Paul Gascoigne free-kick and two goals from Gary Lineker helped Terry Venables's team to a 3-1 victory.

Arsenal won the same fixture two years later with a goal from Tony Adams and they also beat Spurs in the semi-finals 2-1 in 2001 with goals from Patrick Vieira and Robert Pires at Old Trafford.

Who is the record goalscorer in the North London derby?

Harry Kane is the top goalscorer in the fixture with 14 goals for Tottenham while Spurs double winner Bobby Smith and Emmanuel Adebayor both scored 10 goals.

Arsenal's David O'Leary holds the record for appearances in north London derbies at 35, while former captains Gary Mabbutt and Steve Perryman jointly hold the Tottenham record with 31.