Highlights
- Since their first meeting in 1887, Arsenal holds the edge over Tottenham in more than 200 North London derbies.
- Star players like Thierry Henry, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, and Harry Kane have left their mark by scoring crucial goals in the intense rivalry.
- Players like Gareth Bale and Fredrick Ljungberg are also among the top scorers in the North London derby’s history, showcasing the fierce competition.
Over the decades, England’s footballing landscape has become renowned for the epic clashes between the country’s top teams. The classic clash between Arsenal and Tottenham in the annual North London derby is undoubtedly one of the most intense.
The rivalry dates back to the beginning of the 20th century, when in 1913 the Gunners’ move from Woolwich to Highbury, just a few miles from Spurs’ former home, White Hart Lane, brought the two teams closer together – geographically speaking. An enmity reinforced a few years later by Henry Norris, Arsenal’s chairman, who was accused of paying bribes to enable his club to return to the top flight at Tottenham’s expense. Since then, the dispute has continued to grow and resurface at every meeting between the two London clubs.
Since the 11th of November 1887, the date of the first meeting between the two rivals, more than 200 derbies have been played, most of them favouring the men in the red shirt. The rivalry between Arsenal and Tottenham is as strong as ever, and this article has compiled a list of the 13 top scorers in the history of this legendary North London derby.
|
The 13 Top Scorers in the North London Derby |
|||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Rank |
Player |
Club |
Games played |
Goals |
Assists |
|
1 |
Harry Kane |
Tottenham |
19 |
14 |
3 |
|
2 |
Emmanuel Adebayor |
Arsenal, Tottenham |
16 |
10 |
4 |
|
3 |
Robert Pires |
Arsenal |
12 |
9 |
1 |
|
4 |
Heung-min Son |
Tottenham |
19 |
7 |
5 |
|
5 |
Ian Wright |
Arsenal |
12 |
6 |
1 |
|
6 |
Thierry Henry |
Arsenal |
11 |
5 |
1 |
|
7 |
Gareth Bale |
Tottenham |
11 |
5 |
1 |
|
8 |
Robin van Persie |
Arsenal |
15 |
5 |
5 |
|
9 |
Patrick Vieira |
Arsenal |
17 |
5 |
4 |
|
10 |
Theo Walcott |
Arsenal |
19 |
5 |
5 |
|
11 |
Rafael van der Vaart |
Tottenham |
4 |
4 |
2 |
|
12 |
Pierre-Emrick Aubameyang |
Arsenal |
8 |
4 |
4 |
|
13 |
Fredrick Ljungberg |
Arsenal |
13 |
4 |
1 |
13 Fredrick Ljungberg
Goals scored: 4
You may not know it, but Freddie Ljungberg is not really called Freddie Ljungberg. Real name Fredrick, the Swede joined Arsenal in 1998 from his parent club Halmstad. On the 20th of September that year, the striker made his debut with a goal against Manchester United, putting the finishing touches to the Gunners’ 3-0 win.
A few weeks later, the Scandinavian played in his first North London derby, but was unable to break down Tottenham’s resistance, who came away from Highbury with a draw. During the nine seasons Ljungberg spent with the Gunners, he crossed paths with the club’s London rivals 13 times and found the net 4 times.
|
Fredrick Ljungberg’s Record in the North London derby |
||
|---|---|---|
|
Club |
Arsenal |
Arsenal |
|
Competition |
Premier League |
FA Cup |
|
Games played |
12 |
1 |
|
Goals |
4 |
– |
|
Assists |
1 |
– |
12 Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang
Goals scored: 4
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang arrived at Arsenal in January 2018 after five seasons at Borussia Dortmund, and it didn’t take long for Arsene Wenger to make his mark, scoring 10 goals in 13 games in his first season in English football’s top flight.
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With the Gunners, the Gabonese centre-forward made a total of 163 appearances (92 goals, 21 assists) until his transfer to Barcelona in the winter of 2022. That was enough time for him to make eight appearances against Tottenham and score four goals, including one in his last North London derby. For the record, each of Aubameyang’s goals against Spurs were scored at home.
|
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s Record in the North London derby |
||
|---|---|---|
|
Club |
Arsenal |
Arsenal |
|
Competition |
Premier League |
EFL Cup |
|
Games played |
7 |
1 |
|
Goals |
4 |
– |
|
Assists |
1 |
– |
11 Rafael van der Vaart
Goals scored: 4
It’s 2010, and Tottenham have managed to overtake Bayern Munich in the race to sign Rafael van der Vaart. After two seasons with Real Madrid, the Dutchman headed to England, where he would also spend two years of his career.
In his first North London derby, the attacking midfielder was involved in all three of Tottenham’s goals (one goal and two assists) and helped his team come back from 2-0 down on the half-hour mark to silence the 60,000 Arsenal fans in the stands at the Emirates Stadium. The Ajax Amsterdam-trained forward played in four of those matches, scoring four goals and providing two assists.
|
Rafael van der Vaart’s Record in the North London derby |
|
|---|---|
|
Club |
Tottenham |
|
Competition |
Premier League |
|
Games played |
4 |
|
Goals |
4 |
|
Assists |
2 |
10 Theo Walcott
Goals scored: 5
In a career spanning almost 20 years, Theo Walcott crossed swords with Spurs on 25 occasions, 19 of them in an Arsenal shirt. He left his mark on the rivalry, scoring five goals against the Gunners’ arch-rivals – an opponent against whom he also scored during his most recent spells at Everton and Southampton.
And although he has played for clubs other than Everton, where he has spent the majority of his career, we would like to think that he has always taken the same pleasure in scoring against the Lilywhites.
|
Theo Walcott’s Record in the North London derby |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Club |
Arsenal |
Arsenal |
Arsenal |
|
Competition |
Premier League |
FA Cup |
EFL |
|
Games played |
13 |
1 |
5 |
|
Goals |
4 |
– |
1 |
|
Assists |
4 |
– |
1 |
9 Patrick Vieira
Goals scored: 5
An emblematic captain of the Gunners during the legendary 2003/04 season, when Arsene Wenger’s men earned their nickname ‘The Invincibles’, Patrick Vieira has practically given a decade of his career to the north London club.
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After arriving from AC Milan in 1996, the rugged French midfielder quickly made his mark in Arsenal’s midfield and earned a reputation in the eyes of the fans. His five goals against Tottenham certainly contributed to this. In 17 North London derbies against Spurs, the legendary No4 only lost once, on the 7th of November 1999.
|
Patrick Vieira’s Record in the North London derby |
||
|---|---|---|
|
Club |
Arsenal |
Arsenal |
|
Competition |
Premier League |
FA Cup |
|
Games played |
16 |
1 |
|
Goals |
4 |
1 |
|
Assists |
4 |
– |
8 Robin van Persie
Goals scored: 5
The heir apparent to Dennis Bergkamp – whose number 10 he even took over at the start of the 2010/11 season – when he joined the Gunners in 2004, Robin van Persie enjoyed many memorable moments with the London club.
A deadly goalscorer and an invaluable provider of assists, ‘RVP’ was on the scoresheet on numerous occasions during his eight years at the Emirates Stadium. On 132 occasions to be precise – in 278 games. The third-highest scorer in the club’s Premier League history (96 goals), the Dutch striker also scored five times against foes Tottenham in their 15 meetings in all competitions.
|
Robin van Persie’s Record in the North London derby |
||
|---|---|---|
|
Club |
Arsenal |
Arsenal |
|
Competition |
Premier League |
EFL Cup |
|
Games played |
14 |
1 |
|
Goals |
5 |
– |
|
Assists |
5 |
– |
7 Gareth Bale
Goals scored: 5
For the younger generation, Gareth Bale’s name is more easily associated with the legendary ‘BBC’ of Real Madrid than with his first spell at Tottenham – where he returned on loan for the 2020/21 season. From his early days with Southampton at left-back to his transition to a more attacking role as a winger a few years later, the Welshman went from strength to strength.
As well as quickly becoming one of the best young players in the Premier League, he won the hearts of Spurs fans with his performances on the pitch. Some remember his hat-trick on the San Siro against Inter Milan in the Champions League in 2010, others his goals against Arsenal. In 11 games against the Gunners, the man who was once the record holder for the biggest transfer in history scored five times.
|
Gareth Bale’s Record in the North London derby |
|
|---|---|
|
Club |
Arsenal |
|
Competition |
Premier League |
|
Games played |
11 |
|
Goals |
5 |
|
Assists |
1 |
6 Thierry Henry
Goals scored: 5
Voted Arsenal’s ‘Best Ever Player’ in 2008, Thierry Henry is also the club’s top scorer. In 377 appearances for the Gunners, the native of Les Ulis, near Paris, scored a total of 228 goals – not to mention his 103 assists.
The legendary No14 has won numerous trophies, both individual and collective, and has even been honoured with a statue erected in his honour in front of the Emirates Stadium. However, it may come as something of a surprise to many that ‘Titi’ only managed five goals against Spurs, although he did score the winner in his first North London derby on the 19th of March 2000.
|
Thierry Henry’s Record in the North London derby |
||
|---|---|---|
|
Club |
Arsenal |
Arsenal |
|
Competition |
Premier League |
FA Cup |
|
Games played |
10 |
1 |
|
Goals |
5 |
– |
|
Assists |
1 |
– |
5 Ian Wright
Goals scored: 6
Like Thierry Henry after him, Ian Wright has earned his place in the pantheon of Arsenal’s greatest ever players. The Woolwich native played 278 games for the Gunners between 1991 and 1998, scoring 179 goals in the process.
The second-highest scorer in the club’s history, Wright stood out in particular between 1991 and 1996, when he finished at the top of Arsenal’s scoring charts every year. Against Tottenham, whom he played against 12 times in all competitions, the former Crystal Palace player scored six goals before leaving for another London club, West Ham, in the 1998 summer transfer window.
|
Ian Wright’s Record in the North London derby |
||
|---|---|---|
|
Club |
Arsenal |
Arsenal |
|
Competition |
Premier League (and First Division) |
FA Cup |
|
Games played |
11 |
1 |
|
Goals |
6 |
– |
|
Assists |
1 |
– |
4 Heung-min Son
Goals scored: 7
Heung-min Son is the only player on this list still active in the English top flight. The first Asian player to score 100 goals or more in the Premier League, the South Korean has, over the years, established himself as one of the best players in the English league, and by extension in Europe.
Brought over from Bayer Leverkusen in 2015, the striker made his mark on British football thanks to the partnership he formed with Harry Kane, now at Bayern Munich. But his encounters with Arsenal have also done much to win him fans’ hearts. In 19 encounters (Arsenal are the opponents he has faced most in his career), Son has been decisive on 12 occasions (seven goals and five assists) and has the distinction of having played in every game between his team and their rivals in which he was eligible.
|
Heung-min Son’s Record in the North London derby |
||
|---|---|---|
|
Club |
Tottenham |
Tottenham |
|
Competition |
Premier League |
EFL Cup |
|
Games played |
17 |
2 |
|
Goals |
6 |
1 |
|
Assists |
5 |
– |
3 Robert Pires
Goals scored: 9
Robert Pires was not the player on this list who spent the longest time at Arsenal, but he did leave his mark on the North London derby. In six years (2000-2006), the 1998 world champion made 12 appearances and scored nine goals against Tottenham.
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Facing Spurs, the side against which he scored the most goals in his career, the former left midfielder never even tasted a single defeat during his time with the Gunners. His only setback came against the Whites while with Aston Villa, where Pires spent half a season between November 2010 and June 2011.
|
Robert Pires’ Record in the North London derby |
||
|---|---|---|
|
Club |
Arsenal |
Arsenal |
|
Competition |
Premier League |
FA Cup |
|
Games played |
11 |
1 |
|
Goals |
8 |
1 |
|
Assists |
1 |
– |
2 Emmanuel Adebayor
Goals scored: 10
Emmanuel Adebayor is the only player on this list to have worn the shirts of both clubs. After a spell at Arsenal between 2006 and 2009, the Togolese joined Tottenham in 2011, initially on loan from Real Madrid, before making a permanent move to White Hart Lane the following season – and until 2015.
Over the course of his career, the 6ft2in centre-forward played in 16 North London Derby matches (nine with Arsenal and seven with Tottenham), scoring 10 goals, including eight for the Gunners. However, even though he shone at the Emirates Stadium, he remains a controversial player, even hated after his move to the enemy.
|
Emmanuel Adebayor’s Record in the North London derby |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Club |
Arsenal |
Arsenal |
Tottenham |
Tottenham |
|
Competition |
Premier League |
EFL Cup |
Premier League |
FA Cup |
|
Games played |
7 |
2 |
6 |
1 |
|
Goals |
6 |
2 |
2 |
– |
|
Assists |
2 |
– |
2 |
– |
1 Harry Kane
Goals scored: 14
Prince Harry reigns over the North London derby. In 19 games played, Harry Kane has brought joy to Tottenham fans on 14 occasions, taking the opportunity to establish himself as the all-time leading scorer in the history of the clash between the two rivals.
On top of that, the England No9 is also the most decisive player in these clashes, adding three assists to his goal tally. To get a better idea of the performance of the player who left for Bayern Munich in the summer of 2023, there is a rather crazy statistic: Kane scored in nine of his first 10 games against the Gunners in the Premier League.
|
Harry Kane’s Record in the North London derby |
||
|---|---|---|
|
Club |
Tottenham |
Tottenham |
|
Competition |
Premier League |
EFL Cup |
|
Games played |
17 |
2 |
|
Goals |
14 |
– |
|
Assists |
2 |
1 |
All statistics courtesy of Transfermarkt and Wikipedia
https://www.givemesport.com/top-scorers-north-london-derby-arsenal-tottenham-hotspur/
