North London derby: History, when, where and how to watch

The North London derby is one of the fiercest rivalries in English football, with Arsenal and Tottenham regularly doing battle towards the top end of the Premier League.

It was Arsenal who claimed the local bragging rights last season, winning both meetings with Spurs and finishing higher in the standings than their closest rivals.

Tottenham will be desperate to avenge those losses under new head coach Ange Postecoglou, and will get their first crack at redemption when travelling to the Emirates Stadium on Sunday 24th September.

What	Arsenal v Tottenham
Where	Emirates Stadium, London
When	14:00, Sunday 24th September 2023
How to watch	Sky Sports Main Event & Premier League
Odds	Arsenal 7/10, Draw 16/5, Tottenham 16/5

When is the North London derby?

The North London derby takes place twice a season in the Premier League, with one game played at the Emirates Stadium with Arsenal as hosts, and one at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium with Spurs playing at home.

The first clash of the new season takes place at the Emirates on Sunday.

Arsenal will then go to Tottenham for the reverse fixture on the weekend of 27th-28th April 2024, with the exact date and kick-off time for the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium showdown yet to be announced.

Where is the North London derby?

Both the Emirates and the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium host North London derbies. There is also a possibility the two could meet in either the EFL Cup or FA Cup this season if drawn together.

Can I watch the North London derby?

Yes. The North London derby is one of the standout Premier League fixtures and is typically broadcast live on British television and across the world.

Sky Sports and TNT Sports hold the majority of television rights for the Premier League in Britain and the first derby this season will be shown live by Sky Sports.

How many times has the North London derby been played?

The first game between the two teams took place in 1887, but the rivalry really started when Arsenal moved from Woolwich in South London to Highbury in 1913.

The pair had met in the Football League for the first time four years earlier and they have played each other 193 times since.

The only season since 1950 that the two teams have not faced each other in the league was the 1977/78 campaign following Tottenham's relegation to the Second Division. They gained promotion straight back up the following season.

Who is the most successful team in the North London derby?

Of those 193 fixtures, Arsenal have been the most successful, winning on 81 occasions, while Tottenham have won 61 times. There have been 51 draws.

In recent years, it has been home teams who have tended to dominate the fixture.

Tottenham have won just twice at Arsenal since the formation of the Premier League in 1992, the latest win coming in November 2010, when they recovered from a two-goal deficit to triumph 3-2 - Younes Kaboul scoring the winning goal.

Arsenal did secure a rare away success in 2022/23 with a 2-0 victory at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, but that was their first victory at Spurs in nine years. The Gunners have won on just two of their last 15 visits to their biggest rivals.

What is the highest winning margin in the North London derby?

Both teams have won the derby 5-0. Arsenal's victory came at White Hart Lane in 1978 when Alan Sunderland became only the second Gunners player and the last from either side to score a hat-trick in the fixture.

Tottenham's 5-0 win came five years later in 1983 when Chris Hughton and Mark Falco both scored twice.

The highest-scoring game came in November 2004 when Arsenal won 5-4 at White Hart Lane.

Arsenal have won the title at Tottenham twice, firstly in 1971 when Ray Kennedy's goal completed the first leg of the League and FA Cup double, which their rivals had achieved ten years previously.

Then in 2004, when the Gunners went on to complete their unbeaten Invincibles season.

Have any players featured for both Arsenal and Tottenham in the North London derby?

No player has left Arsenal and gone straight to Tottenham since 1968 when Laurie Brown departed as part of a deal that saw Jimmy Robertson - who had scored for Spurs in their FA Cup final win over Chelsea the previous year - move in the opposite direction.

Rohan Ricketts, David Bentley, William Gallas and Emmanuel Adebayor have all been at Arsenal and subsequently joined Spurs.

Robertson and Adebayor are the only players to have scored in the fixture for both clubs.

Former Tottenham manager Terry Neill signed three Spurs players after taking the helm at Highbury, including defenders Steve Walford and Willie Young, but most notably legendary goalkeeper Pat Jennings.

The most infamous switch came when Tottenham captain Sol Campbell moved to Arsenal on a Bosman transfer in 2001, a decision that still grates Spurs supporters to this day.

Have Arsenal and Tottenham met in other competitions?

Tottenham and Arsenal have never faced each other in European competition, but there have been some epic domestic cup meetings.

In 1987, they needed a League Cup semi-final replay to separate them after Spurs won the first leg 1-0 at Highbury and lost the second 2-1 at White Hart Lane.

The decider also took place at Spurs, but a late goal from David Rocastle sent Arsenal through to the final, where they beat Liverpool.

Spurs gained some revenge four years later in the first FA Cup semi-final to be played at Wembley, when a famous Paul Gascoigne free-kick and two goals from Gary Lineker helped Terry Venables' team to a 3-1 victory.

Arsenal won the same fixture two years later with a goal from Tony Adams, and they also beat Spurs in the semi-finals 2-1 in 2001 with goals from Patrick Vieira and Robert Pires at Old Trafford.

Who is the record goalscorer in the North London derby?

Harry Kane, who left Spurs for Bayern Munich in the summer, is the top goalscorer in the fixture with 14 goals for Tottenham, while Spurs double winner Bobby Smith and Emmanuel Adebayor both scored 10 goals in the derby.

Arsenal's David O'Leary holds the record for appearances in North London derbies with 35, while former skippers Gary Mabbutt and Steve Perryman jointly hold the Spurs record with 31.