NORTH LONDON DERBY: IT'S ALMOST WAR

It is the North London Derby today. Arsenal founded in 1886 at the Woolwich Armoury, the club became the first club from the south to join the Football League in 1893. When The Gunners (nickname choice obvious) moved North of the River in 1913, inevitably it created a rivalry between Arsenal and the already established Tottenham Hotspur.

Arsenal's homes have been in Plumstead 1886, The Sportsman Ground 1887, The Manor Ground 1888, The Invicta Ground 1890, The Manor Ground 1893 and the move to Highbury 1913 (4 miles from White Hart Lane) brought about the serious rivalry. Eventually, Arsenal move to The Emirates in 2006.

Tottenham's ground was first at the Tottenham Marshes, when the club were founded in 1882, then Northumberland Park 1888 and White Hart Lane in 1899.

The first official meeting between the two, was on November 9th 1896, when Woolwich Arsenal won 2-1 in the United League. The return match was played on February 25th 1897 in a draw 2-2.
The next game was on Christmas Day 1897 at The Manor Ground with Spurs winning 2-3 in the United League.The first League Div 1 game was on 4th December 1909-programme below.

The rivalry escalated in 1919 when, after World War 1, the First Division was to be expanded by two teams, and the League held a meeting of the clubs to decide the two clubs by means of a vote. 19th-placed Chelsea, who would otherwise have been relegated, were allowed to stay and thus they took the first spot. The second spot could have been awarded to 20th-placed Tottenham, or Barnsley, who had finished third in the Second Division. But Arsenal (along with four other clubs) also bid for the place, despite their only finishing sixth in Division Two, although an error in the calculation of goal average meant Arsenal had actually finished fifth, an error which was corrected by the Football League in 1980.

After an endorsement by League president and chairman of  Liverpool John McKenna. on account of their longer membership of the League, Arsenal won the vote by eighteen votes, and were thus elected to the First Division. Spurs' won eight votes (Barnsley got five, Wolves four, Nottingham Forest three, Birmingham two and Hull City one) 

The decision infuriated Tottenham and their supporters. It has been frequently alleged that Arsenal chairman, Sir Henry Norris, used underhand dealings in order to bring this about, although nothing has been proven. Booo!

Tottenham themselves had been elected to join the Football League Second Division eleven years prior after finishing 7th in the 1907-8 Southern League, but it involved entirely separate leagues that did not have automatic right to move between them. Tottenham were initially unsuccessful in their attempt to join the Football League, and only narrowly won election to the Second Division after Stoke City resigned from the league for financial reasons.

Despite the setback, Tottenham were soon promoted back into the top flight after taking the 1919-20 Second Division title, and the derby was once again regularly contested. 

The first fully competitive derby match after Arsenal's 1913 move to north London was a First Division match that finished 2–1 to Tottenham, on 15 January 1921 at White Hart Lane. The early matches between the two were noted for their bitterness - a particularly vicious match in September 1922 led to both clubs being censured by the FA and threatened with being forced to play behind closed doors.

Tottenham played in the Second Division between the periods of 1928 and 1933, as well as 1935 to 1950, which naturally led to a drop in the number of matches between the two clubs in this period and a cooling of passions. In 1935 Arsenal registered its highest ever win over Spurs in a 6-0 rout away at White Hart Lane. This 6-0 result remains the biggest win by any team wherein the derby. 

Relations between the two clubs improved somewhat after WW2, after Tottenham allowed Arsenal to play their home matches at White Hart Lane while Highbury was requisitioned as an ARP station and subsequently bombed. The two sides met in the FA Cup for the first time in the 1948-9, when Arsenal won a third round tie 3–0.

They first met in the Premier League on Dec 12 1992: 1-0 to Spurs.

First class match record between the two clubs is: Arsenal 82 wins and 54 Draws. Tottenham have won 66. The latest a 2-0 win for Spurs at home (6/12/20).