Arsenal v Tottenham – July 12th, 2020
The first meeting between the two teams was a friendly on 19 November 1887, when Arsenal were located in Plumstead (then part of Kent but now in Greater London), and known as Royal Arsenal.
The match, played at the then Spurs ground at Tottenham Marshes, was abandoned 15 minutes before it was due to end “owing to darkness” with Spurs leading 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 thus beaten 6–2. Another notable match was in 1898 played at the Spurs ground at Northumberland Park.
The match with the then Woolwich Arsenal was attended by a record crowd of 15,000, and the refreshment stand collapsed when spectators climbed up onto its roof in the overcrowded ground, resulting in some injuries and prompting Spurs to start looking for a new ground. The next year the club moved a short distance to what would become known as the White Hart Lane ground. The first League match between the clubs was in the First Division, on 4 December 1909; Arsenal won 1–0.
However, a proper rivalry between the two teams 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 move made Arsenal Tottenham’s nearest neighbours and thus began a natural local rivalry. The two teams first faced each other as “north London” in a War Relief Fund friendly on 22 August 1914 at White Hart Lane. Although Arsenal were in the Second Division and Tottenham in the First, Arsenal won 5–1. They would go on to meet regularly during World War I in the London Combination, the regional wartime competition of the time.
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. 19th-placed Chelsea, who would otherwise have been relegated, was allowed to stay and thus they took the first of the two spots. The second spot could have been awarded to 20th-placed Tottenham, or Barnsley, who had finished third in the Second Division, but Arsenal (along with four other clubs) also bid for the place, despite their only finishing sixth in Division Two, although an error in the calculation of goal average meant Arsenal had actually finished fifth, an error which was corrected by the Football League in 1980.
After an endorsement by League president and chairman of Liverpool John McKenna on account of their longer membership of the League, Arsenal won the vote by eighteen votes to Spurs’ eight (Barnsley got five, Wolves four, Nottingham Forest three, Birmingham two and Hull City one) and were thus elected to the First Division.
It has been frequently alleged that Arsenal chairman Sir Henry Norris used underhand dealings in order to bring this about, although nothing has been proven. The decision infuriated Tottenham and their supporters.
We rarely win away games against Spurs and in the Premier League we have only won five times in twenty seven visits.
| Arsenal v Spurs – EPL Away Games | |||||||
| Season | W | D | L | GF | GA | ||
| 1 | 1992 | 1993 | 1 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 2 | 1993 | 1994 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 3 | 1994 | 1995 | 1 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 4 | 1995 | 1996 | 1 | 1 | 2 | ||
| 5 | 1996 | 1997 | 1 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 6 | 1997 | 1998 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ||
| 7 | 1998 | 1999 | 1 | 3 | 1 | ||
| 8 | 1999 | 2000 | 1 | 1 | 2 | ||
| 9 | 2000 | 2001 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ||
| 10 | 2001 | 2002 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ||
| 11 | 2002 | 2003 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ||
| 12 | 2003 | 2004 | 1 | 2 | 2 | ||
| 13 | 2004 | 2005 | 1 | 5 | 4 | ||
| 14 | 2005 | 2006 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ||
| 15 | 2006 | 2007 | 1 | 2 | 2 | ||
| 16 | 2007 | 2008 | 1 | 3 | 1 | ||
| 17 | 2008 | 2009 | 1 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 18 | 2009 | 2010 | 1 | 1 | 2 | ||
| 19 | 2010 | 2011 | 1 | 3 | 3 | ||
| 20 | 2011 | 2012 | 1 | 2 | 3 | ||
| 21 | 2012 | 2013 | 1 | 1 | 2 | ||
| 22 | 2013 | 2014 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 23 | 2014 | 2015 | 1 | 2 | 1 | ||
| 24 | 2015 | 2016 | 1 | 2 | 2 | ||
| 25 | 2016 | 2017 | 1 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 26 | 2017 | 2018 | 1 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 27 | 2018 | 2019 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ||
| Totals: | 5 | 10 | 12 | 36 | 38 | ||
Overall we have only won twenty four out of eighty eight games – 27%
| Arsenal v Spurs Away Games | |||||
| League | W | D | L | GF | GA |
| Non League | 1 | 2 | 4 | 7 | 15 |
| Division 1 | 18 | 12 | 25 | 81 | 95 |
| EPL | 5 | 10 | 12 | 36 | 38 |
| Total : | 24 | 23 | 41 | 123 | 147 |
Some of our victories have been very memorable.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vaoIPZbcg3w
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BdALY2fLvq4
Our dominance as the number one team in North London is shown in the major trophies won by each team. Spurs last won a trophy in the1991 FA Cup. Since then Arsenal has won eight FA Cups, One Division title and the Premiership on three occasions.
Overall we have won twenty six trophies to Spurs eleven, it’s striking when one realizes that their last FA Cup win was twenty nine years ago and their last league win was an incredible fifty nine years back – before many of their supporters were born
| The FA Cup | Division 1 | EPL | ||||
| Arsenal | Spurs | Arsenal | Spurs | Arsenal | Spurs | |
| 1 | 1930 | 1901 | 1931 | 1951 | 1998 | |
| 2 | 1936 | 1921 | 1933 | 1961 | 2002 | |
| 3 | 1950 | 1961 | 1934 | 2003 | ||
| 4 | 1971 | 1962 | 1935 | |||
| 5 | 1979 | 1967 | 1938 | |||
| 6 | 1993 | 1981 | 1948 | |||
| 7 | 1998 | 1982 | 1953 | |||
| 8 | 2002 | 1991 | 1971 | |||
| 9 | 2003 | 1989 | ||||
| 10 | 2005 | 1991 | ||||
| 11 | 2014 | |||||
| 12 | 2015 | |||||
| 13 | 2017 | |||||
Even given the fact that our away record against Spurs is so poor I’m hopeful that we can come away with a victory. Arteta, having played in the NLD’s himself will have our team fired up and ready to go.
GunnerN5
TA’s Preferred Lineup: stuff the midfield and use Laca and Saka to mash the Spuddies into pulp. Bring on an extra attacker late on to cover them with gravy. 🙂
Bergkampesque 
Cheers GN5, great post that will get us all into the spirit of this game. More from me later/tomorrow.
Martinelli in goal Total, is he fit? 😄
Yeah, Kev, he is hiding behind Martinez 😀
Might be worth doing a little research about trophies. Tottenham have 2 league titles, 8 FA Cups, 4 League Cups, 2 UEFA Cups, 1 Cup Winners Cup. Not many but 17 NOT 11 as stated. You are probably too young to remember the UEFA Cup but it was harder to win than the European Cup as it had more rounds and a larger amount of good teams.
Kev: Martinelli in goal Total, is he fit? 😄
TA: Yeah, Kev, he is hiding behind Martinez 😀
Gabriel will play anywhere to get on the pitch. 🙂
jw1
I wish that Martinelli was fit JW, I really do… 🙂
I’m not sure how I feel about this game today, you just never know what you’re going to get when an Arsenal team faces Mourinho, the Insufferable One has this knack of stealing the result from right under your nose and we shouldn’t forget the Oliver factor. I actually think that Oliver is arguably the best of a very average bunch of English referees, which doesn’t say much.
If we can rediscover our form from Molyneux then we could be in for a very satisfactory afternoon although I think Arteta will miss the option of using Eddie. Maybe it’s a day for Pepe to steal the headlines or Willock or even Nelson, especially as our own lads have grown up knowing what this game means?
i’d go for something slightly different, ta, like:
emi
shkodran-luiz-kieran
hector-dani-granit-bukayo
pépé-auba
laca
i’m surprised you didn’t pick pépé – maybe you have information about his availability which i don’t.
haven’t digested kavanagh’s horror show yet; i agree with kev, though – oliver might be a lesser evil (his first half at molineux was very decent).
turned my tv on yesterday night, a bit absentmindedly, and ended up glued to my screen by juve-atalanta.
the bergamo side are a joy to watch, relentlessly pushing forward. they’re obsessed with getting the ball back as close to the oppponents’ box as possible, and gasperini has obviously drilled them to perfection in that regard. of course, drilling is not enough, and there is room for creativity/invention in their system – yesterday, the guy who made the sparks fly was malinovskyi – the lad has thor’s hammer in both feet.
watching them was mesmerizing too, because i do believe this is where mikel wants to take us – the caveat being that this style of play is so physically demanding, and at the moment there’s no way we can sustain this kind of pace for 90 minutes, as our second half against the pgmol minions tuesday was evidence of.
lastly, what i like about this team, is that they’re the embodiment of “hundred eyes”‘s definition of kung fu in netflix’s “marco polo”: “supreme skill from hard work”; five words i would like our club to keep on believing in, rather than in money-spending.
COYG, keep up with the good job, and don’t ever let any umpire bring you down.
Good morning all.
Mark, as you can see from my chart, I was only referring to the major English titles – League Division 1 champions, Premier League Champions and the FA Cup. I realize that it might be upsetting to see just how far Spurs are behind the Arsenal – but facts are facts.
I find it really amusing when you say “You must be too young to remember” as I’m an Octogenarian and watched my first game at Highbury on November 22nd, 1947.
Nice comment, LeG. Not such a big fan of Pepe and I want to play five in midfield so we don’t get outmuscled by the Spuddies. Saka is red hot with a goal and assist in the last two games and I think he offers something special. On the left we have Tierney and Auba already, so he offers more on the right at the moment.
Hahaha you tell him, GN5, our very special, unbeatable, Spuds-mashing Octogenarian!! 😆
I just noticed that in the text I attributed Spurs with winning eleven trophies whereas it should have been ten,
Since we’re on the topic?
File this under ‘tempus fugit’…
Caught this comment during Wolves v.Toffees:
“Theo Walcott is playing in his 500th Premier League appearance.
Walcott, who turned 31 this year… ”
Doesn’t so much make me feel old. Just older.🧓🏻
In football years.⚽
jw1
Enjoyed your post LG!
Always yours as well GN5!
jw1
Yeah, that was one hell of a January back there in 2006.
In came Theo, in came Abou Diaby and in came Adebayor.
How different things might have been but for a broken ankle, a questionable attitude and a run of niggling injuries?
allezkev. I always like Theo but I’m afraid he had an over rated opinion of his ability.
Theo was quite a good finisher GN5, you don’t score 100+ goals if you’re a donkey.
Yeah, like you I liked him as a person, he seemed a decent fella, but he should have listened to Wenger and stopped imagining that he was a striker.
Adebayor could have have an absolutely brilliant striker for Arsenal, but had a serious case of swollen head syndrome and Diaby was one of the best players we never had because of that non footballer from Sunderland.
TEAM NEWS: Martinez, Mustafi, Luiz, Kolasinac, Bellerin, Ceballos, Xhaka, Tierney, Pepe, Lacazette, Aubameyang
Substitutes
33 Macey
17 Soares
16 Holding
5 Sokratis
15 Maitland-Niles
11 Torreira
28 Willock
24 Nelson
77 B. Saka
All spot-on guys– in agreement re: Theo.
Still like him. Main reason I’ve got Everton on my ‘record it’ list.
Arsenal had a few like Adebayor. Nasri, to a degree Song. Even the non-chubby Arshavin. 😗
jw1
No surprise in the line-up really, except for Saka on the bench. LeG must be pleased. Big game for Laca and Pepe. Make us proud boys!
Aside from the foolishness across the back line– we’ve played pretty well.
Dani has kept the ball moving as our midfield motor.
jw1
Emi looks the real deal.
Does Bernd get a glove on that shot from Davies?
jw1
sad day, sad season
we won’t even celebrate totteringham i’m afraid – just hope good ol’ arsène hasn’t taken the recipe away with him once and for good
it’s probably wiser not to say too much after a defeat in the NLD; i just wish i had been right about kola on the bench, not about pépé on the pitch, ta
feel very sorry for emi The Great
well, the fac now; against you-know-who
am i the only one to be scared sh….ss??
Disappointing. We aren’t playing for too much at this point but to gear up for next season, evaluate talent and improve. Heres one of a few observations…
I don’t like to be hard on our own guys. And I am not at all blaming today’s result on him at all. Also I’m happy to call out when he has a good game like the previous one. I don’t care if he scores a hat trick next week, Mustafi has to go. The amount of errors he is responsible for all over the pitch, (most of which obviously don’t result in conceding), is just not acceptable for a central defender. It would appear comical at times if he wasn’t our player. It’s not from lack of effort on his part, so it pains me to say it.
Well I guess we are still a work in progress. Why do we give a way so many stupid goals?
The good thing is that we didn’t really have anything to win other than NLD bragging rights.
Both teams were very poor and it was going to be something great or something stupid that would win or lose the game – we chose stupid.
I’m happy that there were no spectators – as there is always trouble and someone invariably gets hurt.
Got to say I agree with you jnyc Mustafi just isn’t the answer but he has had better days. Emi was our man of the match for me what a blessing Leno`s injury has been for him and the club. I am thinking it is going to be a real battle for the No. 1 jersey next season and I am hoping Emi wins it as he has been at the club 10 years and been so patient plus boosts our homegrown quotas not to mention he just might be the better of the 2.
At the rate that our defense has been playing I have to think Holding should get a shout. He surely cant do worse. He was actually m.o.m in one of the first games after we came back. Shout to Danny and Granit in an attacking sense today we’re involved in some of our better moves but our midfield still misses focal point and I’m hoping Saka gets a shot at it. Moving onwards hope some younger players get more chances in coming games.
I think what today’s result shows, is what a great coaching job Mikel Arteta has actually done up till now to give us a competent defence from some very erratic defenders who seem to have far too many damaging errors in their locker. I exclude Tierney, Bellerin and Martinez/Martinelli from any criticism
When we scored I thought the game was set for Arsenal to take the game away from Tottenham, to consolidate and eventually score again, but it was as if our team said ‘hang on Jose, let’s see what we can do for you me ol’ mucker’ and as has been the case so often when Arsenal teams face Mourinho teams down the years, we shoot ourselves in the foot, and it’s as if Jose knows we’ll do it because he sets his teams out to nullify the game until we make a major rick, and we did and that slime ball is all smiles once more.
Good and fair comments guys.
There is a new post 🙂