Arsenal vs Tottenham Divides Families In North London

A bitter feud ignited by greed and sustained by jealousy will once again leave families divided when Arsenal and Tottenham stage the latest chapter of the north London derby on Sunday.

To the unsuspecting outsider, Arsenal and Tottenham’s annual showdowns might appear tame in comparison with the scenes of violence and mayhem associated with other high-profile derby clashes between the likes of Rangers and Celtic, Roma and Lazio or Liverpool and Manchester United.

But for the men and women who drape themselves in the red of Arsenal or the white of Tottenham, the fixture comes laced with fear and loathing.

Peggy Goulding has been supporting the Gunners for over 40 years, but the softly spoken chairwoman of Arsenal Football Supporters Club says the north London derby has an atmosphere of unrelenting menace that makes it the one fixture she doesn’t look forward to.

“I hate this game. If you go to the away game, you feel like your life is in your hands,” Goulding said.

“The first time I went to White Hart Lane, Tottenham supporters were waiting for us outside and bombarded us with bricks and bottles.

“I’ve been attacked three times coming out of Tottenham just walking along the street.

“A few years ago, we won the league there. I was with about four friends, and two of them were like me, older women, and two were older men.

“All of a sudden they came at us with everything they could lay their hands on. Some of them haven’t been back to Tottenham since.”

Martin Cloake, co-author of “A People’s History of Tottenham Hotspur”, knows just how deep the ill-feeling runs for many.

“There is hatred there. We all know Arsenal fans we get on with, but some people try to take it too far because you’re supporting another football team,” he said.

To discover the roots of the enmity between Arsenal and Tottenham, it is necessary to cross the River Thames to a leafy park in Woolwich, south London, where a plaque commemorates the founding of Dial Square FC by local armaments factory workers.

In 1913, with Dial Square now known as Woolwich Arsenal, they packed their bags for a new address in Highbury, north London, just a few miles down the road from their soon-to-be despised rivals Tottenham, in a bid to improve the size of their crowds in a more densely populated area.