Top 5 Arsenal vs Tottenham’s North derby fixtures

With no football due to the Coronavirus pandemic, fans are now missing the Manchester and London derbies. And it is understandable given there will be no football until April 30. But while we are in lockdown, let us take a walk down memory lane and remember the best clashes in the English Premier League.

Today, we focus on the Arsenal-Tottenham’s North London derby. It is one fixture in England that is known to take fans off their seats. It had everything from drama, controversy to late comebacks making it one of the most thrilling derbies of the world.

Here are the top 5 fixtures:

-2003/04 Arsenal vs Tottenham at Highbury:

If there is one thing that stood out in this match was Thierry Henry’s wonder goal at Highbury. As soon as a player dons the Gunners jersey, he dreams of scoring against the Spurs. But imagine receiving the ball in your half and going pass the Spurs players with ease and finding the net. It certainly would be a dream goal.

This is something Henry felt when he did the spectacular in the 13th minute. The goals have stood the test of time and are still considered one of the best goals ever score in Premier League history. Arsenal went on to win the match 3-0.

-2004/05: Arsenal vs Tottenham at White Hart Lane:

It is the classic North derby clash. The nine-goal thriller is one of the top contenders for the ‘most classic derby’ trophy. Spurs had started strongly by getting on the scoreboard first. But with players like Thierry Henry and Patrick Vieira, Arsenal packed some serious goal scorers in the squad.

The Gunners quickly equalized and went on to take a two-goal lead, thanks to goals from Henry, Vieira, and Lauren. After this, both the sides scored consecutively — 2-3, 2-4, 3-4, 3-5 and 4-5 — with the match ending in Arsenal’s favour.

In this nine-goal thriller, every single goal by the Gunners was scored by a different player which is still a record in Premier League history.

-2008/09: Arsenal vs Tottenham at Emirates Stadium:

Apart from the scoreline, this match was a similar affair like the 2004’s 4-5 fixture. Spurs took the lead in the 13th minute, thanks to ex-Gunner David Bentley’s 45-yard stunner. But post-30 minutes, Arsenal went up 3-1, courtesy of Silvestre, William Galas and Emmanuel Adebayor.

From there the Spurs kicked into the sixth gear and went full throttle. Darren Bent’s goal in the 67th-minute had brought the score to 3-2. Robin van Persie made it 4-2 a minute later. But there was no stopping the White Lillies. In a spectacular late comeback, Spurs scored twice in the dying minutes to equalise. The match ended in a 4-4 draw.

-2010/11: Arsenal vs Tottenham at Emirates Stadium:

This fixture holds a very important place in Spurs’ history book. The 3-2 victory at the Emirates was their first win on Arsenal’s turf in 17 years.

Arsenal was leading the match with 2-0 scoreline after 30 minutes. From their Spurs painted Emirates lily-white after scoring three goals in a sensational second-half comeback.

-2011/12: Arsenal vs Tottenham:

The story of this fixture is the same as its predecessors. The winning side — in this case Arsenal — was down 2-0 before romping their opponents. Arsenal scored five goals, thanks to Theo Walcott, Van Persie, Bacary Sagna and Tomas Rosicky.

To finish, we have yet another classic comeback to enjoy. This time, it was Arsenal who ended up worthy winners. And yet again, the winning side went 2-0 down before going onto score five, yes five, to make it 5-2.