It’s the game both sets of fans want to win more than any in the Premier League, it’s the match that determines who walks into the office on Monday morning beaming ear-to-ear, but more importantly, it determines who takes the bragging rights in north London.
The rivalry between Tottenham and Arsenal is without question one of the most heated, entertaining and biggest matches in English football. Some games come close to it such as the Tyneside Derby between Newcastle and Sunderland and more recently the Second City Derby between Aston Villa and Birmingham City, but for a while, the North London Derby has remained supreme, and Spurs will be looking to win it this weekend.
After a poor start to the season that has seen a win, a draw and a loss for Mauricio Pochettino’s side, claiming three points against Unai Emery’s Arsenal will see Spurs leapfrog the Gunners in the Premier League table heading into the international break, and taking an early lead against the red team of north London in the league will be something Tottenham fans want to see.
Indeed, Spurs have without question been the better side in north London over the past few seasons, with Arsenal failing to make it into the Champions League for the past three years whilst Tottenham have not only finished in the top-four in those years but gone all the way to the final of Europe’s elite competition, and taking advantage of the Gunners frail mentality will be key of Pochettino is to get the edge over their rivals.
We have already seen Arsenal this season have their back against the wall against top-six opposition as last weekend saw the Gunners lose 3-1 to a Liverpool side that could have realistically scored more, and if Spurs are able to shake off their own loss from the previous matchday and head into the Emirates Stadium with a winning mentality, then Tottenham are already halfway there against their hated rivals.
It might be early in the season, but a win against Arsenal is exactly what Spurs need to get their Premier League campaign back on track.