The North London Derby is one of the premier fixtures on the English football calendar, with neutral fans up and down the country getting just as excited for the fierce rivalry as Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur supporters each and every time it comes around.
The first North London Derby of the season is on the horizon, with the Gunners hosting Spurs at the Emirates Stadium on September 24 and there is a lot at stake for both sides as they have both enjoyed good starts to the season.
Tottenham drew their opening game away to Brentford, but have since won three in a row with victories over Manchester United, Bournemouth and Burnley, while Mikel Arteta’s side have beaten Nottingham Forest, Crystal Palace and Man United — alongside a draw with Fulham.
This will be Ange Postecoglou’s first taste of a North London Derby, but he has plenty of experience of big games like this from his time as Celtic manager and he won’t be fazed at the Emirates after stepping into a cauldron like Ibrox on Old Firm Day.
The Gunners are the favourites in the Arsenal Spurs betting odds, as Tottenham haven’t won on their rival’s turf since 2018. Anything can happen on the day though, so to help us get in the mood for the big game, let’s take a look at some classic encounters between these two sides.
2004: Tottenham 2-2 Arsenal
Arsenal headed to White Hart Lane unbeaten and with just four games left to spare of the 2003-04 season, this was their opportunity to seal the title. In contrast, Spurs went into the game on terrible form, having failed to win any of their last six. But the thought of denying their rivals the title on their patch was expected to fire them up.
Or so it seemed, as Patrick Vieira and Robert Pires gave Arsenal a 2-0 lead going into half-time and had them cruising towards a victory. Jamie Redknapp scored to make the Gunners sweat and Robbie Keane notched a penalty in the final minute to make it 2-2.
There wasn’t enough time for Spurs to score a winner and the home fans couldn’t get out of there quickly enough as Arsenal won the title at White Hart Lane for the second time following their previous success in 1971.
2004: Tottenham 4-5 Arsenal
The following season saw the highest-scoring North London Derby on record, as neither side seemed interested in doing much defending in this famed renewal. The scores were tied at 1-1 at half-time after Thierry Henry cancelled out Noureddine Naybet’s opener on the brink of the break.
That forced new Spurs boss Martin Jol to rip up his half-time notes, while it clearly put a spring in the step of Arsenal and Arsene Wenger’s men went 3-1 by the 60th minute thanks to a Lauren penalty and a Vieira strike.
Jermaine Defoe and Ledley King scored either side of Freddie Ljungberg to make it 4-3. Pires restored Arsenal’s two-goal advantage following what was a frantic 20 minutes before Frederic Kanoute pulled one back for Spurs late on, but it was nothing more than a consolation.
2008: Arsenal 4-4 Tottenham
Fast forward to 2008, and there was another high-scoring affair between these two rivals. This time, however, eight goals were scored at the Emirates. Again, it was only 1-1 at the break as David Bentley’s stunning volley from close to the half-way line caught Manuel Almunia too far out from his goal.
Mikael Silvestre levelled before half-time and William Gallas and Emmanuel Adebayor made it 3-1 to Arsenal by the 64th minute. Darren Bent scored straight off the bench for Spurs, but Robin van Persie restored the two-goal lead just one minute later.
As the clock approached 90, the Spurs fans who left the Emirates early to make a dash for the tube home will have rued their decision as Jermaine Jenas scored in the 89th minute and Aaron Lennon secured a point four minutes into injury time.
