The North London Derby (Feat. Arseblog)
The North London Derby (Feat. Arseblog)
TOTTENHAM vs ARSENAL is boiling hot, each and every time.
There are few feuds like the 111-year-old dispute between Arsenal and Tottenham regarding the question of who exactly owns North London. These two first met in 1896, but that was when Arsenal were in Woolwich, south of the River Thames. It wasn’t until the Gunners crossed the waterway in 1913 and set up shop in Tottenham’s neighborhood that the trouble began, and it hasn’t let up since. Though as an Arsenal fan, I feel obligated to weigh in on who owns what: the red side may be seeking a first league title in two decades, but Tottenham haven’t won the first division for 63 years. They’ve won two trophies in the last 30, and they were both League Cups.
There will be just a bit of partisanship in this episode, because joining the show to preview this North London derby is Andrew Mangan—blogger, podcaster and proprietor at Arseblog, the foremost Arsenal fan channel. We delved into his path to The Arsenal as a Dubliner, Arsenal’s rather disastrous injury and suspension situation coming into this one, those frightening times when Mauricio Pochettino threatened to win Spurs a trophy, his memories of the Sol Campbell transfer—an all-time North London flashpoint—and why he wants bad things to happen to Tottenham, everywhere and all the time:
or check it out on:
SPOTIFY🎙️
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A few more matches worth watching…..
SATURDAY
SOUTHAMPTON vs MAN UNITED
7:30am ET, 12:30pm UK
Erik ten Hag will go marching into St Mary’s hoping to seize a change in Manchester United’s fortunes. The Red Devils come into this one on the back of two straight defeats, first a helter-skelter encounter with Brighton where they were punished for failing to take their chances, then comprehensive destruction at the hands of Liverpool. That was at Old Trafford, and a stinging defeat to the old enemy reawakened the chorus of doubters and denigrators.
Lucky for the visitors, Southampton have yet to take a point in this division. The gaffer Russell Martin got rave reviews in the Championship last season, and he’s tasked with getting more than the sum of its parts out of a squad that looks at least drop-zone adjacent.
FULHAM vs WEST HAM
10am ET, 3pm UK
A London derby at the Premier League witching hour? These two sides have played some promising stuff so far this season despite their modest positions in the table, though you also won’t go wrong with CRYSTAL PALACE vs LEICESTER CITY, a very lively-looking affair in the same match window. Eddie Nketiah could make his debut for Palace against Jamie Vardy and the Foxes following a £25 million+ transfer from Arsenal. Oh, and BRIGHTON vs IPSWICH TOWN also has a good look about it, to be fair.
ASTON VILLA vs EVERTON
12:30pm ET, 5:30pm UK
Here’s a fixture that’s been a regular feature of the English football calendar since September 22, 1888. The Villans won that one 2-1 at Wellington Road, their home for a spell between their original digs—Aston Park—and Villa Park. Unai Emery’s side have a formidable home record, with 12 wins and two draws from 19 matches last season, though they did fall to Arsenal in their opening match in Birmingham this term.
They’re strong favorites here against an Everton side absolutely desperate for points: Sean Dyche’s team is rock bottom of the table after three matches with an impressive -8 goal difference. They’ve been smashed twice, by Brighton and Tottenham, and they’ve just got to find a way to keep the opposition out if they’re going to survive another season. There’s only so many times you can skirt by the relegation pit without falling in.
REAL SOCIEDAD vs REAL MADRID
3pm ET, 8pm UK
It’s La Real hosting another royal outfit you might have heard of. Sociedad hail from Spain’s gastrocapital of San Sebastian, still seeking Basque footballing supremacy over Athletic Club. (You can find more on football in the Basque country in our chat with Graham Hunter a couple of weeks back.) Madrid come to town in the midst of an injury crisis—Jude Bellingham, Eduardo Camavinga, Aurélien Tchouaméni, and Dani Ceballos are all out in midfield—but their remit this season is clear: win La Liga, win the Champions League, win every match.
SUNDAY
TOTTENHAM vs ARSENAL
9am ET, 2pm UK
The North London derby. Get the full preview with Andrew above!
GIRONA vs BARCELONA
10:15am ET, 3:15pm UK
If a Catalunyan derby is more your speed, these two are scheduled for a neighborly disagreement not long after the second half kicks off in North London. With Girona’s semi-cinderella season last term—they do live under the umbrella of Man City’s ownership group—both these teams are Champions League outfits.
WOLVES vs NEWCASTLE
11:30am ET, 4:30pm UK
Here’s a right old Premier League scrap, with the visiting Magpies off to a far better start than Wolves of Wolverhampton. Gary O’Neil’s team haven’t had the easiest schedule to start the season, but with one point from three games—including a 6-2 shellacking from Chelsea—they need to take something off Eddie Howe’s men. Alexander Isak is at it again this season, but folks on Tyneside will also be enjoying the return of the young Italian maestro Sandro Tonali after a 10-month gambling ban.⚽︎