What Happened to High Scoring North London Derbies?

North London Derbies prompt retrospective thought like no other Arsenal fixture. A glance across the mainstream media over the next few days will confirm this, as a deluge of articles are produced with the sole purpose of recounting previous encounters. ‘Top Ten Goals’, ‘Top Five Games’, or ‘Best Seven Comebacks’. I’m sure you’re all familiar with these Buzzfeed style, easily consumed, bite-size pieces of content. Amid the lapses into nostalgia however, a glance at past encounters can allow one to identify certain trends. Though many accept the mantra that ‘form goes out of the window’ on derby day, games against Tottenham Hotspur have taken on a marked change in character in recent times.  Simply put, the goals have dried up and the madness of the fixture has subsided a touch.

For both sets of supporters, nothing can match the glowing sense of pride that comes from beating your local rival. A secondary source of pride however, not often expressed, can be felt by both sets of fans due to the fact that in recent times, Arsenal vs Spurs has been the most entertaining and absorbing derby in English football.

Nothing can match the historical grandiosity of Manchester United vs Liverpool. Everton vs Liverpool is unique due to both the proximity of the two grounds and the grave events of the past that bind the two clubs. The rivalry between Newcastle United and Sunderland is somewhat difficult to grasp unless you are not from the region, and in any case, the games themselves tend to be poor fare. It is difficult to gauge when you are on the ‘inside’, but I suspect that if neutrals across the country were polled about the local derby they are most likely to sit down and watch, Arsenal vs Spurs would be close to topping the results. The emerging, or perhaps ‘re-emerging’, rivalry between the two Manchester clubs following City’s ascent would push it close.

Football watchers in general, as well as Arsenal and Spurs fans, associate the derby with drastically open matches, great goals, comebacks, collapses and bizarre score-lines. In recent times however, such madness has subsided and the ‘normality’ has been restored. Below are the score-lines from the last six derbies in all competitions:

• Spurs 1-2 Arsenal (Capital One Cup, 23^rd September 2015)
• Spurs 2-1 Arsenal (Premier League, 7^th February 2015)
• Arsenal 1-1 Spurs (Premier League, 27^th September 2014)
• Spurs 0-1 Arsenal (Premier League, 16^th March 2014)
• Arsenal 2-0 Spurs (FA Cup, January 2014)
• Arsenal 1-0 Spurs ( Premier League, 1^st September, 2013)

Compare and contrast with the results that came before that:

• Spurs 2-1 Arsenal (Premier League, March 2013)
• Arsenal 5-2 Spurs (Premier League, November 2012)
• Arsenal 5-2 Spurs (Premier League, February 2012)
• Spurs 2-1 Arsenal (Premier League, October 2011)
• Spurs 3-3 Arsenal (Premier League, April 2011)
• Arsenal 2-3 Spurs (Premier League, November 2010)

Of course, such a trend could be blown out of the water come 6pm on Sunday should an open, free scoring game unfold at the Emirates. The gradual decrease in goals scored is clear however, and the above results don’t include the infamous 4-4 draw at the Emirates in 2008/9. There is never just one factor at play, and the pattern could well be written down to the natural fluctuations of football, but there are some postulations worth considering.

Certainly, Spurs lost a good deal of their guile and counter-attacking potency following the departures of Luka Modric, Gareth Bale and Rafael Van der Vaart. Modric and Van der Vaart departed in the summer of 2012, and Bale late in the summer transfer window of 2013. Even Emmanuel Adebayor, who endured a brief spasm of motivation under Harry Redkanpp, slowly receded into the wings. Those who arrived, such as Paulinho and Roberto Soldado, were not adequate replacements for what had been lost.

The obvious response to the lack of goals would be to argue that both defences have tightened up. Neither team has been flawless defensively over the last couple of seasons, but it is true to say that there are no ‘Silvestres’ or ‘Squillacis’, ‘Dawsons’ or ‘Rochas’ left in either squad. Interestingly, Arsenal’s two 5-2 wins came during periods when they were at their least fluent offensively, as they rebuilt following the losses of Cesc Fabregas, Samir Nasri and later Robin van Persie. Arsenal have since improved dramatically as an offensive force with the acquisitions of Santi Cazorla, Mesut Özil and Alexis Sanchez yet Spurs have managed to limit Arsenal fairly well in recent meetings.

Which brings us to the most important aspect of this discussion in my opinion, and that is the way Spurs approach games against Arsenal. During a period that began approximately in the 2010 and ended in the autumn of 2013, Tottenham’s fans, players and managers believed they had legitimate claims to be as good a team as Arsenal, if not better. They believed they had a realistic opportunity to finish above Arsenal and claim a Champions League place. To be fair to Spurs, Arsenal finished just one point ahead of them in 2011/12 and 2012/13.

This influenced how Spurs thought about the derby. Believing themselves to be Arsenal’s equal they set out to attack and dominate the game to the greatest degree possible. Such a tactic stretched the game and, if truth be told, played into Arsenal’s hands. Harry Redknapp’s ‘tactical’ philosophy reflected this attitude; one recalls the 5-2 game in February 2012 when Spurs were 10 points clear of Arsenal in the table. Rather than try and keep Arsenal at bay and retain their points advantage, Spurs went with a 4-4-2 and tried to bury Arsenal’s season in that 90 minutes. Despite two early goals, they were overrun by Arsenal who then embarked on a seven game winning streak to beat Spurs to fourth place.

Following the summer of 2013, a disparity between Arsenal and Spurs began to emerge. Arsenal’s place in the top four became more comfortable, while Spurs retained Champions League aspirations without ever threatening to achieve this target. Though they will never admit it, Spurs have bowed to Arsenal’s superiority a touch more in recent games, seeking first and foremost to limit Arsenal’s offensive potential. During the period when the gulf in quality between Arsenal and Spurs was at its greatest, in the early 2000s, the derbies themselves were closely contested. Spurs put all of their energies into dealing with the strengths of their more powerful and skilful rival. Such a gulf in class does not exist today, but I feel that Spurs have rediscovered some of that underdog mentality. 

Perhaps aware that there had not been sufficient time to engrain his preferred high pressing game on the team, Mauricio Pochettino instructed Spurs’ players to defend deeper and concede possession to Arsenal during the League game at the Emirates last season. It worked well and gained Spurs a 1-1 draw. In the return game at White Hart Lane, Spurs adopted a high press and suffocated Arsenal, pinning them in their own half for long periods of a 2-1 victory. Such strategic flexibility was quite impressive when compared to some of the kamikaze football Spurs had brought to the table previously.

Previously, if you didn’t beat Spurs it mattered not because you could always rely on them to beat themselves. Under Pochettino however, Spurs have been a bit smarter tactically and less prone to the bouts of self-destruction that plagued them frequently. If the pattern of recent derbies continues, Arsenal should expect an attritional encounter on Sunday. 

Dan Zeqiri

http://twitter.com/zeqiridan Tell us what you think! If you agree, or have a different view, please leave a comment in the comments section or why not write a response or your own article on YouWrite?

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