Arsenal's 5 Favourite North London Derbies of the Emirates Stadium Era
When Arsenal first moved to the Emirates Stadium in 2006, they bid goodbye to a trove of memories from Highbury—few of which were more treasured than victories in the north London derby. Since then, they have been writing a new story.
Fortunately for Arsenal, they have maintained their superiority over their neighbours since the stadium switch. Since 2006, there have been several enthralling new triumphs over Tottenham Hotspur. Each derby success has helped make the Emirates feel a little more like home.
In this piece, we try to nail down the five best derby days for Arsenal at their relatively young stadium. Go to the next slide to begin the countdown.
5. The First North London Derby at the New Stadium
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The first north London derby at the Emirates Stadium took place on December 2, 2006. Arsenal came into the game on a 13-match unbeaten streak against their rivals. The number proved to be unlucky for Tottenham, as the Gunners ran out comfortable 3-0 winners.
Thierry Henry was a surprise omission from the Arsenal squad, but his replacement, Emmanuel Adebayor, proved an effective understudy. Played onside by Pascal Chimbonda, it was the Togo international who gave the Gunners the lead. The Arsenal fans who celebrated his goal wildly were not to know he would later switch to the other side of the north London divide.
Arsenal’s other goals came from the penalty spot. With Henry absent, the responsibility fell to Brazilian Gilberto Silva. Although primarily a defensive player, Gilberto was always calm on the ball, and that same composure was in evidence as he twice stepped up to beat Paul Robinson.
Arsenal were a little fortunate with the decision to award the two penalties. Nevertheless, there was a clear gulf in class between the two teams. In the first derby at the new ground, Arsenal laid down a marker and started as they meant to go on.
4. Theo Walcott Knows the Score
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Arsenal defeated Spurs 2-0 in the FA Cup third round of January 2014 thanks to goals from Santi Cazorla and Tomas Rosicky. Rosicky’s was particularly memorable, as he pinched the ball from Danny Rose on the halfway line before tearing up the field and clipping over the advancing goalkeeper.
However, it was Theo Walcott who made headlines in this game. After picking up a knee injury (one that would ultimately keep him sidelined for more than nine months), Walcott was stretchered from the field—right in front of the travelling support.
Goaded by the Spurs fans, he responded by raising his fingers to illustrate the scoreline: “2-0.”
The gesture incensed the Tottenham supporters but delighted the Emirates Stadium faithful. Walcott has not always enjoyed an easy relationship with the Arsenal fans, but this was a moment where he was the subject of undiluted idolatry.
His injury was the one real blight on the day, as his performance had been outstanding. Only this season has Walcott begun to recover the kind of form he showed against Spurs in this game.
3. Cesc Fabregas Catches Spurs Sleeping
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Arsenal fans are superstitious about November. It’s a month in which their title credentials typically crumble. However, they have had some excellent results in November before—notably November 1, 2009, when they beat Tottenham 3-0.
It was Robin van Persie who gave Arsenal the lead, tucking home a cross from Bacary Sagna. However, it was what happened next that was truly extraordinary: Tottenham conceded immediately after kick-off.
After restarting the game, Cesc Fabregas stole the ball from Wilson Palacios and started dribbling towards goal. Spurs, seemingly still reeling from having fallen behind, could not muster either the will or the defensive nous to stop him.
Eventually, Arsenal’s Spanish skipper found himself one-on-one with goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes and duly finished. Just 49 seconds had passed between Arsenal’s opening two-goal salvo.
Fabregas seemed to take particular relish in victories over Spurs, and for him to put them to the sword quite so emphatically made this one of the great Emirates Stadium occasions.
In the second half, Van Persie added another goal after a horrendous Gomes error. It was the final nail in the coffin of another humiliating day for Tottenham.
2. Emmanuel Adebayor Implodes
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In November 2012, Arsenal beat Tottenham 5-2. Perhaps the most extraordinary thing about that is they’d done precisely that just nine months earlier.
Repeating the feat made the Arsenal fans particularly delirious. The Gunners support had already arrived at the stadium carrying hordes of banners with “5pur2” emblazoned on them, but they couldn't have hoped for them to be so perfectly poignant.
It was made all the more enjoyable by seeing Adebayor come a cropper. The former Gunner had not left Arsenal on good terms, and his subsequent decision to sign for Spurs made him public enemy No. 1 among the Arsenal support.
He did tap home to give Tottenham the lead in this fixture, but an ugly tackle on Cazorla later saw him dismissed. His sending off was effectively what turned the tide in this game.
Once Arsenal got on the front foot, they were difficult to stop. Goals from Per Mertesacker, Lukas Podolski and Olivier Giroud put Arsenal in front before half-time. Gareth Bale was able to pull one back in the second half, but Cazorla and Walcott put the seal on a resounding victory.
1. The Great Comeback
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As good as November 2012’s victory over Tottenham was, nothing will beat the first 5-2 of earlier that year for sheer excitement and enjoyment. Arsenal went 2-0 down but stormed back to record a resounding victory.
The match hinged on Sagna’s goal. With Arsenal trailing, the Frenchman stormed up the field and thumped home a header of such force that it seemed to completely transform the game. From that moment on, the crowd were with Arsenal, and Spurs looked powerless to resist.
Tottenham had been in the ascendancy for so much of the season, but this match saw the momentum swing firmly in Arsenal’s direction.
What’s your favourite derby of the Emirates Stadium era? Let us know in the comments section.
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