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So last night I was arguing with my Spurs-supporting mate Dave at the pub again. He kept banging on about how Tottenham owns North London lately. Got me thinking – how many wins do Arsenal actually have against these lot? Decided to dig into proper stats instead of shouting over pints.
Starting The Hunt
First, grabbed my laptop and tried googling “Arsenal vs Tottenham all-time record”. Big mistake. Found like ten different numbers everywhere – some sites counted friendlies, others only Premier League, total mess. One forum even had a guy claiming Arsenal never lost before 1987. Absolute bollocks.
Shifting Gears
Figured I needed legit sources. Went straight to football databases I’ve used before for stuff like this. Searched “North London Derby head-to-head” across three places. Still got variations though – one database missed FA Cup replays from the 1920s! Had to manually cross-check each season like some detective.
The Deep Dive
Started scribbling notes on a legal pad:
- Premier League era: easy enough, just scrolled year-by-year
- Old First Division seasons: got blurry around World War years
- Cup matches? Madness – that 2001 FA Cup semi-final took ages to confirm
Found myself shouting “Bloody hell!” when discovering we played them four times in 14 days back in 2009. Nuts.
The Final Count
After burning through two coffees and half my notebook, here’s the cold hard truth:
- Total matches: 209
- Arsenal wins: 86 (finally shut Dave up with this)
- Tottenham wins: 67
- Draws: 56
Took forever because some sources disagreed on abandoned WWII fixtures. Also learned we smashed them 6-1 at White Hart Lane in 1935. Should’ve brought that up last night!
What I Learned
Proper derby stats are messy as hell. People throw numbers around without checking eras or competitions. Final spreadsheet looks like a war map – red for wins, blue for losses. Might frame it if we beat them next month. Lesson? Always check the source… and never trust Dave’s pub stats.
David