Arsenal, Spurs never had more in common, or more to drive them apart

Arsenal and Tottenham are competing for the same things this season, which should only add intensity to their match on Sunday.

There is a section of Spurs fans who claim there is no north London derby. That one of English soccer’s most storied and renowned fixtures is little more than a construct of convenience manufactured by Arsenal following their move to north London from their original home in the south of the city in 1913. They needed new rivals and Spurs were the closest neighboring team.

Of course, this argument is little more than mischievous point-scoring designed to rile up the other side. Back in 1913, goalkeepers had only just been banned from handling the ball outside the box, with the first ever World Cup still 17 years away. If a rivalry has lasted over a century, from the primitive years of the sport to the present day, it’s real.

All this hints at the inferiority complex felt by Spurs over the past two decades or so when it comes to their rivalry with Arsenal. Until the 2016-17 season, Spurs had never finished above Arsenal in the Premier League era. Even in 2015-16, when Mauricio Pochettino’s side came closest to challenging Leicester, they ultimately finished third. Below Arsenal.

Spurs have since finished above Arsenal in the Premier League table in successive seasons, but they have still to fully step out from under the shadow of their closest rivals. With Pochettino in charge, Spurs have made great strides — they, along with Manchester City, are the only English team to have qualified for the Champions League in each of the past three seasons — but in many ways, they now find themselves the new Arsenal.

Just like Arsenal a decade ago, Spurs have been hamstrung by the construction of a new stadium. Pochettino, just like Arsene Wenger, has been frustrated by the lack of funds available to him in the transfer market, unable to stop his best players from being poached by richer rivals. Similarly, a Spurs title challenge is close enough to tantalize, but too far away to materialize.

There are plenty parallels to be drawn between the north London rivals, but more than pull them closer together, that could push them further apart. This season, Arsenal and Spurs find themselves occupying the same subsection of the table, competing for the same things. It’s been a while since the two teams have looked each other so directly in the eyes.

Nothing incubates a rivalry like competition and it’s for this reason the north London derby could be about to enter a golden age, starting with this Sunday’s clash at the Emirates Stadium. Just three points separate the two teams as things stand, and so this weekend’s result could have a very real bearing on the season for both Arsenal and Spurs.

The paradoxical nature of the north London derby in 2018 also extends to the dugout. Unai Emery and Pochettino might be different sort of characters, particularly in their touchline demeanor, but they’re coaches of a similar mould — both like dynamic, attack-focussed play. But while one (Emery) is following an upward trajectory, marking incremental progress since taking over in the summer, the other (Pochettino) is at the very least plateauing, struggling to break through the Premier League’s glass ceiling.

Sunday’s game might not be a title decider — it probably won’t influence the destination of any silverware — but it will help shape a rivalry that is in the midst of a redefinition. After the past few years, Arsenal and Spurs aren’t entirely sure what they are to each other. What was not so long ago a distinct dynamic has become more muddled.

Arsenal and Spurs are now intertwined more than ever before. These are two clubs that have, for decades, existed on opposing ends of the pendulum — when Wenger was at Arsenal, Martin Jol was at Spurs, when George Graham was at Highbury, Ossie Ardilles was at White Hart Lane. Now, their complex rivalry requires more untangling.