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The English Premier League resumes this week and it kicks off with a mouthwatering fixture as Arsenal and Tottenham meet in the North London derby. It's one of the most anticipated matches in the Premier League.
When two fierce rivals meet, it's more than a football match for the fans who are forced to deal with various taunts at work or school when their side loses the game.
Throughout the years, the North London derby has offered a lot of memorable moments, exciting matches and plenty of drama.
#5 Tottenham 2 - 2 Arsenal, 05/03/2016
On a sunny day at the White Hart Lane, the two teams arrived at the match with low morale after both lost their previous league games midweek; Tottenham away at West Ham and Arsenal shockingly at home to a weakened Swansea side. Overall, the Gunners had suffered two losses on the bounce.
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Arsene Wenger's men looked to be heading towards a third consecutive defeat when Francis Coquelin was sent off for a second yellow at the start of the second half and Tottenham came back from 1-0 to lead 2-1 with a Toby Alderfeireld goal and a Harry Kane wonder strike.
Tottenham dominated the match, as you would expect against ten men, recording 26 shots on goal, 11 of which were on target. Yet Arsenal managed to end their losing run.
Alexis Sanchez, who hadn't scored a Premier League goal since October, found the perfect time to end his drought. Hector Bellerin recorded assists on both Arsenal goals. The first one was a clever backheel finish by Aaron Ramsey from a corner.
The match ended up being a turning point in Arsenal's season. They went on an unbeaten run in the league to finish off the year and among others ended up leapfrogging the Spurs. A 2nd place finish was, and still is, the Gunners' best result since 2004/05.
4# Arsenal 2 - 3 Tottenham, 20/11/2010
The St Totteringham's Day was canceled in 2017 when Spurs managed to finish above Arsenal in the league for the first time in 22 years. A while back it also took Tottenham a lot of time to beat their rivals away from home. A long wait ended in November 2010.
Harry Redknapp was still in charge of Tottenham back then and the team had their first ever Champions League season that year. It was the coming-out party for Gareth Bale. He passed the 10-goal mark for the first time in his career and he also helped turn around the first league derby of the season.
After Samir Nasri and Marouane Chamakh had given Arsenal a two-goal lead in the first half, Bale started a comeback which ended with Tottenham's first win at Arsenal in 17 years.
It was a hard-fought match that featured 36 fouls. Though, surprisingly there were only four yellow cards handed out by referee Phil Dowd and no reds. However, there was a controversial penalty, when Rafael van der Vaart's free-kick hit the arm of Cesc Fabregas.
The Dutchman cooly slotted in the penalty in the 67th minute and the point earned probably already tasted like a victory for the visitors. But there was still more to come.
Laurent Koscielny earned a yellow from a late tackle on Bale in the 86th minute, Van der Vaart made a perfect delivery into the box and Younes Kaboul headed in a late winner. Only a few minutes earlier Koscielny had wasted a glorious chance at the other end.
In the reverse fixture, Tottenham also erased a two-goal deficit to draw 2-2. It was a good season for the North London derby.
#3 Arsenal 5 - 2 Tottenham, 26/02/2012
After a rare win in 2010 at the Emirates, Tottenham reverted to type as they haven't won there in the last six visits and a couple of defeats have been really bad ones.
In February 2012, Spurs looked set for another three points at the Emirates after a bright start. They had a golden chance to beat their North London rivals away from home in back to back games for the first time in 86 years when Louis Saha's early strike and an Emmanuel Adebayor penalty made it 2-0 by the 35th-minute mark.
By half-time, it was 2-2 as Bacary Sagna and Robin van Persie scored in the final minutes of the half, and it got even worse for Spurs in the second.
Tomas Rosicky made it 3-2 after 51 minutes and two Theo Walcott goals sealed the deal for Wenger's men. Scott Parker was sent off late on for a second bookable offense.
The match turned out to be one of two consecutive 5-2 derby wins for Arsenal at the Emirates. During the same year in November, Tottenham once again couldn't pull off a positive result after a good start. Former Gunner Adebayor again scored against his former side in the 10th minute, but he was sent off shortly after that for a lunge on Santi Cazorla.
Interestingly, red cards have been rare after the two fiery matches in 2012 with Coquelin's sending off in 2016 the only one in ten league meetings.
#2 Arsenal 4 - 4 Tottenham, 29/10/2008
Generally, when you score four goals you should be able to win most football matches but sometimes, it still isn't enough. On an October night in 2008, four goals weren't enough for a win for either side in the North London derby.
Tottenham once again scored first as former Arsenal trainee David Bentley found the net with a spectacular 40-yard volley in the 13th minute and it lasted for 20 minutes before Mikael Silvestre equalized for the Gunners.
The 60,043 crowd then witnessed a breathtaking second half. It started with William Gallas putting the Gunners ahead in the 46th minute and then, there were three goals inside four minutes.
Adebayor made it 3-1 for Arsenal in the 64th minute but Darren Bent replied for Spurs a few minutes later.
A minute later, Robin van Persie gave the hosts a two-goal cushion again. However, the lead wasn't big enough for the Gunners to get a win.
In the 89th minute, Jermaine Jenas curled in a great strike with his left foot and Aaron Lennon managed to make it 4-4 in the dying seconds of four minutes added on.
The 4-4 result is one of the highest scoring draws in Premier League history. Only a 5-5 result between West Bromwich Albion and Manchester United in 2013 has had more goals in a game that ended without a winner.
The match probably brought back quite a few memories for the older supporters of the teams. There were two 4-4 North London derby games back in 1962 and 63.
#1 Tottenham 4 - 5 Arsenal, 13/11/2004
Almost 13 years ago, we witnessed not only the best North London derby ever but also one of the best matches in Premier League history. A real rollercoaster ride for both sets of supporters and no doubt, for the players as well.
Arsenal had just had their "Invincibles" season in which they didn't lose a single match on the way to their third Premier League title. The new season started in incredible fashion as well with eight wins in the opening nine games. After a run of 49 consecutive unbeaten games, they finally lost at Old Trafford.
The North London derby followed just a few weeks after the loss to Manchester United. Arsenal had played out two consecutive draws after the loss to the Red Devils and it seemed like the team had lost its confidence following the end of the unbeaten run.
A relatively quiet first half featured goals from Noureddine Naybet (Spurs) and Thierry Henry (Arsenal) before all hell broke loose in the second. It started in the 55th minute when referee Steve Bennett gave Arsenal a penalty after Noe Pamarot pulled down Freddie Ljungberg in the box. Laurent scored the penalty to start an outbreak of three goals in six minutes. Patrick Vieira made it 3-1 to the Gunners, but Jermaine Defoe quickly pulled one back for the hosts.
Soon after, Ljungberg made it 4-2, staying just onside in the penalty area, but once again Spurs had an answer. Captain Ledley King finished off a free-kick with his head in the 74th minute.
The match finished with two goals in the last ten minutes. Robert Pires gave Arsenal another two-goal lead in the 81st minute, but Frederick Kanoute's strike with two minutes to go ensured a nervy ending for the visitors, who hadn't won at White Hart Lane since 1999.
Considering how most of the best North London derbies have taken place in November, then we could be in for another treat this Saturday.
