We make the short trip to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday for the first North London Derby of the season.
It had become a trip of woe for many a year - 8 games without a league win across 3 stadiums - but in the last 2 years the tide has turned.
Last season saw us go 3 up in quick time. An own goal, Havertz and Saka putting the game to bed in the first half. A shocker from Raya and a late penalty did give us a scare but it was too little too late for the hosts.
A year before and another own goal before Odegaard netted a second again meant the game was done by half time. This time there were no scares as we strolled to a 2-0 win.
Back in May 2022 we experienced the THS with a real crowd for the first time, and a Rob Holding disaster-class helped Spurs to a 3-0 win in a decisive win in the chase for CL. Our first 2 games at their new stadium were in the COVID era, the first a 2-1 defeat before a 2-0 loss in front on a very small crowd.
A lot of the above games were done by half time, but our previous last away win was won in the opening couple of minutes. A Tomas Rosicky wonder hit gave us a 1-0 win back in the 13/14 season. The opposite was true in the away game in 07/08, as late goals from Fabregas and Adebayor gave us a 3-1 comeback victory.
The early years of the new century saw a lot of draws - 6 out of 7 from 2000 to 2007. The other game, though, was truly for the neutral. We won a 9 goal thriller - although we went in at half time 1-0 down! Thierry Henry scored straight after the break, and then Lauren and Patrick Vieira made it 3-1. Defoe got Spurs back in it, before Freddie Ljungberg and King shared goals to leave us 4-3 up. Robert Pires - our top scorer in away NLD in the PL era with 5 - made it 5 before Kanoute gave Spurs a 4th.
One of the aforementioned draws was a bit more special than the rest - 25th April 2004. Chelsea had lost earlier in the day and we just needed a draw to win the title. Within 3 minutes a great team goal was converted by Vieira, and before the break Pires got his customary goal. Redknapp hit a long ranger, but the party had already started. A head loss by Lehmann meant we didn't win the game, but we won the war and the title was ours at White Hart Lane!
In all our PL winning seasons we have drawn away to Spurs. A couple of late goals from Pires (again) and Poyet meant the game was drawn 1-1 in 01/02, while Ray Parlour netted the equaliser in another 1-1 back in 97/98.
In all we have played 32 away games to Spurs in the PL.
We have won 7.
We have lost 13.
12 have been drawn.
I can't go without mentioning one of my favourite away games to Spurs - the 1987 League Cup Semi Final. In fact there were two trips to WHL. Spurs had won at Highbury in the first leg thanks to Clive Allen, and the same man put Spurs 1 up in the second leg in what was a goal laden season for Allen. Seemingly down and out and 2 goals down away at a hostile WHL, we rallied and Viv Anderson and Niall Quinn levelled the aggregate scores within 2 minutes of the restart. Extra time couldn't separate the teams and a third game was required, again at WHL.
For the third game running Clive Allen put Spurs ahead and time was running out for Arsenal. With just 8 minutes on the clock Ian Allinson - a first half sub for our injured star striker Charlie Nicholas - got the equaliser. It looked like the tie would be heading for 330 minutes but in injury time the legend that is David Rocastle poked home the loose ball to send Arsenal to Wembley.
Given the injuries and suspensions, we go into the game with a lot of selection choices for the boss. It will be a difficult game, but one we should have confidence in getting a result. Maybe we can call on the spirit of 87!?
Spurs away...
posted on 12/9/24
Spurs always seemed to have some randomer score from 25 yards against us. Bentley, rose, walker, huddlestone, jenas. Feels like they're due another one
posted on 12/9/24
comment by Tu Meke (U3732)
posted 5 minutes ago
Spurs always seemed to have some randomer score from 25 yards against us. Bentley, rose, walker, huddlestone, jenas. Feels like they're due another one
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Porro loves a thunder bastad and VDV has it in his locker as well.
You forgot the most famous one - Gazza in 91 with “schoolboys own stuff” - great commentary
posted on 12/9/24
On a personal level, I always find this fixture conflicting. On the one hand I can’t stand Arsenal and want to give them an absolute hiding.
On the other hand, half my family are Gooners and I have 3 close mates that are Gooners. I tend to watch these games (well the away games as I go to most home games) with family and friends and so have to just let it go after 90 mins if we’ve lost as I can’t let it affect these relationships.
posted on 12/9/24
If spurs are open, we win again
posted on 12/9/24
comment by Striketeam7 - staying humble (U18109)
posted 43 minutes ago
On a personal level, I always find this fixture conflicting. On the one hand I can’t stand Arsenal and want to give them an absolute hiding.
On the other hand, half my family are Gooners and I have 3 close mates that are Gooners. I tend to watch these games (well the away games as I go to most home games) with family and friends and so have to just let it go after 90 mins if we’ve lost as I can’t let it affect these relationships.
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Although we are great rivals I don't think there's much animosity between different family members supporting either club, it's just great banter.
My work colleague's wife was an Arsenal fan, him a Spurs fan, he would just come to work and give me stick if they won, which wasn't a lot in those days
posted on 12/9/24
comment by Passion Power - Make 1984 fiction again (U8398)
posted 43 minutes ago
comment by Striketeam7 - staying humble (U18109)
posted 43 minutes ago
On a personal level, I always find this fixture conflicting. On the one hand I can’t stand Arsenal and want to give them an absolute hiding.
On the other hand, half my family are Gooners and I have 3 close mates that are Gooners. I tend to watch these games (well the away games as I go to most home games) with family and friends and so have to just let it go after 90 mins if we’ve lost as I can’t let it affect these relationships.
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Although we are great rivals I don't think there's much animosity between different family members supporting either club, it's just great banter.
My work colleague's wife was an Arsenal fan, him a Spurs fan, he would just come to work and give me stick if they won, which wasn't a lot in those days
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Yeah, it’s always a funny rivalry where you can family members supporting either side, the Scousers are the same.
My Dad was Spurs and his older brother was Arsenal - they used to go to the match together all the time. One time on the way home from Spurs they got chased by Spurs fans who thought they were both Arsenal and had to hide in someones garden for about quarter of an hour until the mob stopped looking.
Im a bit like your colleague, I say a few things about Arsenal on here that I don’t say at home in order to keep the peace
posted on 12/9/24
comment by Striketeam7 - staying humble (U18109)
posted 2 hours, 30 minutes ago
Good article DJ
From a Spurs perspective - more than ever, this is a game we daren’t lose. Arsenals missing players, the previous 2 occasions and our patchy start make this must not lose territory for Ange - plus the rivalry of course.
2 games linger in the memory for me:
April 2010 - Spurs were chasing their first ever CL appearance having missed out due to lasagne gate years earlier. We had a tough run in though Arsenal, Chelsea, Bolton at home and Man City (who were our competitors for 4th) and Burnley away. Danny Rose famously scored a wonder volley after 10 mins to put us 1-0 up and it stayed like that until half time. 10 mins into the second half, Gareth Bale, who Spurs had come within a whisker of selling to Forest for £3m the previous January, latched on to a Defoe through ball to poke us 2-0 up. Arsenal rallied, pulled one back, before Heurelho Gomes pulled off a wonder save to deny RVP and equaliser. The atmosphere that night was special, absolute cacophony of noise. We took that momentum into Chelsea and beat them 2-1 - this game was essentially the birth of Gareth Bale as he turned Kohn Terry into mince. We followed up with a home win against Bolton 1-0 and then played City away with a win guaranteeing CL qualification - a Crouch header given us all 3 points.
The other game is Jan 2008, league cup second leg. The first leg had ended 1-1. The ground that night was one of our loudest atmospheres ever and Arsenal just couldn’t cope from the get go. We romped to a brilliant 5-1 win with Arsenal just falling apart - Bendtner and Adebayor falling out with each other hilariously. Spurs went on to beat Chelsea 2-1 in the final with King and Woodgate playing like Prime Maldini and Baresi.
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I was at both those games.
My ST was right in line with that RVP volley and the save. Amazing skill from RVP, chest and volley, which looked like it was flying top corner only for old octopus arms to claw it over somehow.
I have a good feeling about this. Arsenal are a very strong team and especially defensively but i just think that if they are missing a midfield, especially Rice & Odegaard who are critical to them, they are going to be lacking a lot in terms of controlling the game and being able to exploit our weaknesses.
Despite our meagre return, i actually think the team will be confident as we have played very well for the vast majority of the 3 games. Just moments have cost us and that for me will be what defines this game - Can we avoid silly individual mistakes, can we avoid being wasteful. If we can then i think we can draw or beat them - that's assuming we have VDV Solanke Bissouma available which, by the sounds of it, is likely.
posted on 12/9/24
I'm so excited for this game. Cannot wait!
Good article BTW DJ
posted on 12/9/24
comment by Chris H (U15205)
posted 4 hours, 14 minutes ago
Hopefully Richarlison is fully fit and available
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bad luck
posted on 12/9/24
Raheem Sterling may get a game if he is fit