A decision that ignited hatred in North London... How did the historic rivalry between Arsenal and Tottenham begin?
Perhaps asking Arsenal fans, "Which would you prefer? Tottenham winning the league or your team being relegated?" would be enough to understand the extent of the historic rivalry that spans more than 100 years between the two teams, as the former's fans would prefer relegation to seeing their eternal rival crowned champions. Tottenham, currently 16th in the standings, will host league leaders Arsenal on Sunday in a top-of-the-table clash in the 27th round of the English Premier League. The historic rivalry between Arsenal and Tottenham is due to geographical and
competitive reasons. Although the two teams met for the first time in an official match in 1909, with the former winning with a goal by Walter Lawrence at Manor Ground in Plumstead, southeast London, the rivalry intensified four years later, specifically in 1913, when Arsenal decided to change its headquarters and move from Woolwich in southeast London to the north in Highbury, which is four miles away from Tottenham’s then stadium, White Hart Lane.
The official Arsenal website details the animosity and the consequences of this decision, explaining that Tottenham, along with Homerton-based Clapton Orient, appealed against the decision to move the Reds, which was rejected by the league's management committee, leading to the Gunners signing a 21-year lease at their new Highbury stadium.
The hatred reached its peak in 1919, after Arsenal's promotion to the First Division, which came after the decision to increase the number of league clubs to include 22 clubs, despite finishing sixth in the Second Division in 1915, the last season before the break due to the First World War, while Tottenham had been relegated that season after finishing second to last in the First Division, but hoped to stay up after the increase in the number of teams in 1919.
Arsenal's account states that the club's then-chairman, Sir Henry Norris, pushed hard to have the team included among the newly promoted clubs, after he had saved the club financially in 1910 and moved it to North London in 1913.
One of the reasons given to justify Arsenal's rise was that it had always been a supporter of the English Football League (the English League) and not the rival Southern League, and was the first team from the South to be included in the English Football League in 1893.
Arsenal denies the account that suggests its former boss, Henry Norris, influenced the league's chairman and Liverpool owner, John McKenna, to secure promotion, claiming that he won the vote by a margin of ten votes.
As the years passed, the rivalry between the two clubs continued to rage until 1971, the year in which Arsenal won the league at White Hart Lane, the home ground of their neighbor and rival, as they only needed a goalless draw to clinch the title, but they won 1-0.
The same thing happened 33 years later, when the players of the "golden" generation, led by Frenchman Arsène Wenger, went to "White Hart Lane" needing a point to win the English Premier League title for the third time. Arsenal took a two-goal lead before the match ended in a 2-2 draw, crowning the "Gunners" champions for the second time at the home of their neighbor, with whom they never had a close relationship.
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