THE animosity between Tottenham and Arsenal is well documented with the dramatic 4-4 draw at the Emirates last week just the latest installment in the North London derby story.

The Gunners have had the upper hand over their rivals for quite some time, although Spurs can point to last season’s League Cup while Arsenal haven’t won anything since the FA Cup in 2005. On their way to their League Cup triumph Spurs beat the Arsenal under-12 side 5-1 at White Hart Lane to make the run all the sweeter.

But in the Premiership it is a different story. Tottenham have enjoyed little success over Arsene Wenger’s charges and you have to go back to this day in 1999 for the last time Spurs came out on top in a League match.

The added spice to the encounter at White Hart Lane was former Arsenal manager George Graham’s place in the Spurs dugout, and the match was certainly a fiery affair.

Steffen Iversen got things underway with his opening goal after just six minutes and a quarter-of-an-hour later the Spurs fans were delirious when Tim Sherwood scored a screamer of a free kick to double their advantage.

This was all going a bit too well for the home team and soon the Gunners began to fight back. First a messy Kanu goal was disallowed for pushing, before Patrick Viera made no mistake and headed in from Emmanuel Petit’s free kick.

Half time: 2-1, and nervy second half in store for both sides. A North London derby wouldn’t be complete without a few red cards and this one had two - the first early in the second half when Freddie Ljungberg was sent for an early bath by referee David Elleray for pushing over Justin Edinburgh. Despite their numerical deficiency the Gunners dominated the second half as they looked for a winner that never came. They finished the game with only nine men after Martin Keown walked for a second yellow after fouling both David Ginola and Jose Dominguez.

To the surprise of exactly no one, Arsene Wenger did not see the Ljungberg incident, but did question why Elleray had not seen Tim Sherwood elbow Petit. “For me it was clear,” said Wenger. “Maybe if you had different glasses you didn’t see it.” Rich talk indeed for the most myopic manager in the Premiership when it comes to his own players misdemeanors.

As it was Spurs held on for a famous win, their first for four years at the time, while for Arsenal it was their fourth defeat of the season, which they would end trophyless.

To see what the Arsenal/Spurs derby means to the fans, watch this frankly disturbing clip from the Sky Sports Fanzone channel. More from us tomorrow, but until then, have a look here for a story about the most bonkers club in Scotland.

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