[3] Although the two teams first played each other in 1887, the rivalry did not begin until 1913 when Arsenal moved their ground to North London from Woolwich, south of the River Thames.

[6] The highest-scoring game in the North London derby is the 5–4 win by Arsenal at White Hart Lane in November 2004.

[10] The first completed match between the two teams was held the following February in Plumstead; Tottenham could only field nine players, and were beaten 6–2.

The two teams first faced each other as north London rivals in a War Relief Fund friendly on 22 August 1914 at White Hart Lane.

[17] After an endorsement by League president and chairman of Liverpool John McKenna on account of their longer membership of the League, Arsenal won the vote by eighteen votes to Spurs' eight (Barnsley got five, Wolves four, Nottingham Forest three, Birmingham two and Hull City one) and were thus elected to the First Division.

It has been frequently alleged that Arsenal chairman Sir Henry Norris used underhand dealings in order to bring this about, although nothing has been proven.

[21] Despite the setback, Tottenham were soon promoted back into the top flight after taking the 1919–20 Second Division title,[22] and the derby began to be regularly contested.

[2][4] Relations between the two clubs improved somewhat after the Second World War, after Tottenham allowed Arsenal to play their home matches at White Hart Lane while Highbury was requisitioned as an ARP station and subsequently bombed.

The two sides met in the FA Cup for the first time in the 1948–49 season, when Arsenal won a third round tie 3–0.

Arsenal's Theo Walcott, after picking up a knee injury in the 83rd minute of a FA Cup third round tie against Tottenham in January 2014, was pelted with a hail of coins and plastic bottles whilst coming off the field on a stretcher by Tottenham fans at the Emirates Stadium.

Walcott subsequently made a gesture on the stretcher to the Tottenham fans which reflected, at that point in time, the 2-0 scoreline of the game which it finished as eventually.

[25][26] On 30 April 2017, Tottenham beat Arsenal 2–0 in the final North London Derby at White Hart Lane.

[36] In an attempt to draw the sting from these chants, Tottenham fans (whether Jewish or not) adopted the words "yid" and "yiddo" for themselves and thereby turned a pejorative into a term of pride and belonging.

[39][40] Although Arsenal and Tottenham have never met in a major cup final, there have been North London derby matches that have significantly contributed to one of the two clubs winning a trophy, such as semi-finals and title deciders.

[48] The most goals in one game were scored in the closely contested 5–4 Arsenal victory at White Hart Lane on 13 November 2004.

[49] Arsenal's record is held jointly by Emmanuel Adebayor, Alan Sunderland and Robert Pires, with eight goals each.

[1] Adebayor also formerly shared the record for most goals by a player in the North London derby with ten: eight scored for Arsenal and two for Tottenham.

The first player to have played for both clubs, however, predated the start of the rivalry; Bill Julian joined Royal Arsenal in 1889 and Tottenham in 1894.

[52] Many other players played for both clubs before the start of the rivalry, including Charles Ambler, Arthur Elliott, Thomas Fitchie, Tom Pratt, Peter Kyle, and George Payne.

George Graham was firstly an Arsenal player, then managed the Gunners between 1986 and 1994, before later taking up the reins at White Hart Lane between 1998 and 2001.

[61] Forward Billy Lane first played for Tottenham during 1922 and again from 1924 in a two-year stint at the club, but started in 1963 to feature as a scout for Arsenal.

Arsenal were unable to compete in the 1989–90 competition owing to a ban on English clubs following the Heysel Stadium Disaster.