The North London Derby

Article by Matt Wilson

As many Tottenham fans will know, our next Premier League installment comes from The Emirates as we face Arsenal for the first time since March. The North London Derby has been played on 183 different occasions with Arsenal winning 78, and Tottenham winning 55 of those games. However, it is the recent history of 1-1 and 2-2 draws which makes this season’s Derby both competitive and hard to call.

Injury News:

Reports suggest that Tottenham will be without Toby Alderweireld who is making a slow recovery from his knock picked up in Tottenham’s 1-1 draw with West Brom, in mid-October. Harry Kane has been in recovery for a couple of weeks after his ankle injury picked up against Sunderland, and has trained this week with a view to returning in some form on Sunday. Erik Lamela only missed last Saturday’s draw to Leicester because of Illness and should also be fit to play a part.

As for Arsenal, things don’t look much better. The Gunners are without Theo Walcott, Lucas Perez, Santi Cazorla, and Nacho Monreal. Reports suggest that Perez will be out for up to two months, whilst the rest have only picked up knocks, as Arsenal head into a busy November.

Match Memories:

Over the years, Tottenham and Arsenal have thrown up some fantastic games with one another. This week marks the 8-year anniversary of that thrilling clash between the two North London sides, finishing 4-4 at The Emirates, thanks to goals from Aaron Lennon, Jermaine Jenas, Darren bent, and, of course, David Bentley’s world class strike! The exciting game was Harry Redknapp’s first North London Derby. This, by far, has been my personal favourite North London Derby played at The Emirates, as it was my first experience of Tottenham Away Days – I was very satisfied, come Full Time at least.

However, I’m sure I’m not alone when I say the most satisfying result against Arsenal was the 5-1 thrashing at The Lane back in 2008. Not only did it put Arsenal in their place as the 2nd team in North London, but it also secured our place in the Carling Cup Final, a trophy we’d go on to lift that very year, beating Chelsea 2-1 thanks to a Woodgate header in Extra Time.

A close contender for my favourite North London Derby dates back to 2010. Spurs were 2-0 down to the home side after a very poor first half. Redknapp made one Half Time change, bringing on Jermaine Defoe. Not long after, Defoe played Gareth Bale through who stabbed home to put Tottenham back in it. Then, Tottenham had won a penalty after a Fabregas handball in the box. Rafa Van Der Vaart had levelled it up at The Emirates. The 90th minute came round and Van der Vaart’s free-kick was met by the head of Younes Kaboul who guided it in to the far bottom corner of Fabianski’s goal.

My Line up:

Depending on how strong Pochettino goes for the Mid-Week Champions League game, and of course hoping for no more injuries, I can see Harry Kane returning to the starting XI, with no other changes to the starting line-up against Leicester.

To all Spurs fans, have a great week and enjoy the derby!

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