They said last season’s North London Derbies were the most significant in a generation. The trajectories of Arsenal and Spurs appeared to be heading in contrasting directions, with the former enduring their worst season for 21 years and the latter putting together a title challenge of sorts. But this weekend’s clash, in terms of symbolism, will outstrip anything witnesses last term.
Spurs travel to the Emirates Stadium on Saturday with more than just bragging rights to snatch from Arsenal. Of course, Mauricio Pochettino’s side are currently flying high, challenging at the top of the Premier League and all but assured of their place in the Champions League last 16 having seen off Borussia Dortmund and Real Madrid.
Arsenal, on the other hand, are slumped in sixth place, struggling to make an impression on the Europa League. There’s a sense of malaise around the club that refuses to shift. Indeed, the Emirates isn’t a particularly warm place to visit right now. And therein lies the golden opportunity for Spurs. They can highlight just how bad things are for the Gunners by showing just how good things are at Spurs.
In many ways, Spurs are setting a precedent for Arsenal follow. Or, to look at it slightly differently, Pochettino is following the example set by Arsene Wenger in the late 1990s. The parallels are there to be drawn - Pochettino, just like Wenger, is modernising English football at a time when its ways and methods have grown stagnant, he is professing not just a technically adept style of play, but a tactically aware ideology and has placed his faith in youth.
While Wenger’s side lack direction and an identity, Pochettino has imposed a strong one on his team. This is evident in the way injuries have had little effect on Spurs so far this season. Whoever comes into the lineup is just as ingrained in the Argentine’s philosophy as the player who sits out. Look at Harry Winks and his performances against Real Madrid, both at the Santiago Bernabeu and Wembley.
Spurs are now a club moulded in the character of their manager. It used to be the same for Wenger at Arsenal. Now, the Gunners are fragmenting from the Frenchman, demonstrated by the seasonal fan protests that spark up every few weeks. There’s a disconnect between the people running the club, whether that’s in the dugout or in the boardroom, and those in the stands.
There’s also the significance of the construction of Spurs’ new ground to factor in. For a long time, the Emirates weighed heavy around the neck of Arsenal, some might claim it still does to a certain extent. But the building of the 60,000-seater arena moved the Gunners ahead of their North London rivals in English football’s natural order. New White Hart Lane will see Spurs move on to an equal footing once again, though.
How that will affect Spurs on the field is obviously unknown at present. Will it curtail their efforts in the transfer market or will it boost the prosperity of the club in every way? In the long term, though, the new stadium will undoubtedly help Spurs challenge at the top of the domestic and continental game. Its opening will be a watershed moment in the club’s history.
And this Saturday’s North London Derby could be another watershed to go along with it. A Spurs victory at the Emirates would be the ultimate, the purest, distillation of their superiority over Arsenal at the moment. It would be the sort of symbolism that Wenger simply couldn’t ignore. For both clubs, it would be the most significant derby result in a generation.
