Alright alright, before you kill me, I do still believe North London is Red (kind of). However, the question is, on what basis can we now make that claim? Trophies – Maybe, League position – No, Recent head to heads – No. So, what then?
Don’t tell me we’re going to respond to this question with the heritage rhetoric? Because I don’t want to sound like a pre-2019 Liverpool fan. The reality is Tottenham are unbeaten in 8 of their last 10 games against Arsenal in all comps. Our little brothers across the road are no longer scared of facing us, in fact, they now view this fixture as lightwork. Take Harry Kane’s record vs us for example, in the 14 times he’s faced us, the 27-year-old has scored 11 goals and provided 3 assists.
Since 2016, our beloved St.Totteringham’s Day has been put on hold and cancelled till further notice. Spurs have finished above us in the league for four consecutive seasons, as we speak, they’re set to make it five, as they sit seven points ahead of us in the table. Gone are the days where finishing above Spurs was our divine right, now it’d feel like a noteworthy achievement.
Alas, for all their recent dominance, one thing Jose’s men can’t chat to us about is trophies. As of today, it’s been over 13 years since Tottenham Hotspurs won a trophy, in that same period Arsenal have won four, eight if you include the Community Shield. If we’re talking about silverware, it’s like comparing chalk & cheese. They’re not on our level in that regard, however, they may argue back and say where have all those trophies gotten us…into the Europa League, with them.
Before the 2016/17 campaign, we’d finished in the top four on 20 consecutive occasions. Since then, we’ve been stuck in the sunken place for four campaigns, while Tottenham have been in the Champions League for three out of those four seasons.
They’ve been playing at a higher level than us and have finished above us regularly, whilst also getting the better of us consistently. So, based on all that, can we still confidently say North London is Red? You might argue that they’ve only been on top for 4/5 years, which doesn’t negate the previous twenty, however, when do we start to acknowledge this as not just a phase, but the new norm.
Now that we’ve comfortably disposed of Olympiakos, we must turn our full attention to beating our derby rivals for the first time since December 2018 and re-establishing North London as Red.
Let me know what you think – @ArsenalPresser.