How Tottenham Hotspur's Rise Could Change the North London Derby
The best derbies are won by those who puff their chest out farthest. Of course, there needs to be something more than just competitive spirit—history, heritage, intangible toxicity—but football’s defining derbies are contested between clubs whose entire identity is based on the intrinsic belief that they are bigger and better than their rivals.
Look at the rivalry between Liverpool and Manchester United, for instance. One boasts about being more successful in Europe, while the other counts up their domestic honours as a manifesto for being the bigger and better club. There’s the same dynamic when it comes to Celtic and Rangers. And Barcelona and Real Madrid. And AC Milan and Inter Milan.
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The north London derby, however, lacks something. While it is one of English football’s most anticipated fixtures, it doesn’t compel and captivate in the same way other derbies do. Jot down a list of Europe’s biggest and best derbies, and the one between Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur wouldn’t make it.
It might be different this season, though. The north London derby has long been a rivalry between two clubs of differing stature. While Arsenal were title challengers and Champions League regulars, Spurs were the footballing equivalent of Wile E. Coyote, always foiled in their scheme to catch the Road Runner by a falling anvil or a dodgy lasagna.
As already pointed out, the biggest and best derbies are contested between clubs of an equal footing. It’s why the Manchester derby was lacking that intangible something for so long before Manchester City became a true force in their own right. While there was a long and storied history between the two clubs, the edge that normally comes with such games was missing due to one being so utterly dominant over the other.
The same was true of the north London derby. Until last season, could Spurs fans wholeheartedly claim their club to be bigger and better than Arsenal? Could they keep a straight face while making that point? Now, however, the dynamic might have finally shifted.
Under Mauricio Pochettino, Spurs have become genuine challengers at the top of the Premier League, sticking with eventual champions Leicester City for much of the 2015/16 season. They are a Champions League club and aren’t about to surrender their place among English football’s elite.
Of course, Arsenal fans will point to how the Gunners still managed to finish above Spurs in the Premier League table last season, but that was little more than a quirk. Spurs were the better of the two rivals over the course of the 2015/16 campaign and are shaping up to be among the contenders at the top of the table once again. Arsenal finally have worthy rivals.
And so, the nature of the north London derby might have changed. Spurs head into this weekend's clash with Arsenal on an equal footing for the first time in a generation. One is not aiming to catch the other, and that could give the fixture whatever it was lacking before. This Sunday could prove a watershed for the derby.
Just three points separates the two teams with 10 games of the season played, meaning they could end up level with each other should Spurs claim an away win. That would be reflective of how Arsenal and Spurs are regarded at the moment. There is nothing to choose between them.
Not that Pochettino is much interested in getting one over Spurs’ closest rivals. The Argentinian has repeatedly rebuffed suggestions that catching Arsenal is the priority for the White Hart Lane side season after season.
In an interview with Raith Al-Samarrai of the MailOnline ahead of a north London derby last season, he explained:
"In football, the supporters and their feelings are very important, but we are professional. To move on, we need to sometimes to put out the emotions, to be clever. We need to fight first to improve ourselves and be strong in our ideas.
I can understand it, for our supporters it's special to be above Arsenal but I want to be second not because we'll be above our enemy, our opponent, but because we are ambitious.
Maybe one day Arsenal finish eighth, we finish seventh, yes we're above but it's not a success for us. It's very important to look at ourselves and enjoy the position that we are we are in but we don't care about our opponents.
"
Pochettino’s comments are illustrative of how Spurs have raised themselves to Arsenal’s level over the past two seasons or so. They no longer measure themselves using their rivals as a yardstick. Instead they have greater objectives. They have their sights set on finishing not just above Arsenal, but above everyone else as well.
The Argentinian appears somewhat irked whenever the comparison is made between Spurs and Arsenal, but the comparison is now a favourable one for the White Hart Lane outfit. That’s before the parallels between Pochettino and Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger are even factored into the equation.
Just as Wenger did at Arsenal in the late 1990s, Pochettino has modernised Spurs as a club, not just imposing a dynamic style of play on the team but overhauling the culture of the organisation as a whole. Indeed, Pochettino’s reign as Spurs boss has thus far been written in Wengerisms, whether he likes that comparison or not.
Sunday's match between Spurs and Arsenal will be a toss-up, the way a true derby should be. While the former are once again challenging near the top of the Premier League for the second successive season, the latter are also enjoying a successful campaign so far, with Wenger’s side unbeaten since the opening-day defeat to Liverpool. There are no clear favourites.
That parity should result in a more compelling derby this weekend, hinting at what could become the new dynamic of the fixture from this point forward. While Spurs were once the lesser of the two north London rivals, now they can look at Arsenal straight in the eye. Now they can claim to be one half of a real derby.
