Arsenal moved down the road to Highbury in 1913, yet it would be over seven years until we'd meet in the first N17 vs N5 clash...
First 'proper' NLD - 1921
The Gunners were formed as Dial Square in 1886, then Royal Arsenal and on turning professional in 1893, became Woolwich Arsenal, playing at the Invicta Ground and the Manor Ground, Plumstead. They moved to north London in 1913 and played their first match at Highbury on 6 September, 1913 – a 2-1 victory over Leicester Fosse in the old Second Division (Championship). We won the Second Division title in 1919/20 and the stage was set for the first 'north London' derby in the First Division on 15 January, 1921. We won that clash 2-1 thanks to goals from Jimmy Cantrell and Bert Bliss in front of 39,221 fans at the Lane. “Spurs played the close-passing, skilful game. Arsenal played the full-steam-ahead game, booting the ball hard and dashing after it at top speed. At the end, no-ne could say which was the more effective,” reported the Daily Mail. A week later, N17 vs N5 was truly underway as we travelled to Highbury for the first time, this time suffering a 3-2 loss.
Match abandoned for 'bad language' - 1900!
Before the local rivalry kicked in in 1921, we had some 'interesting' encounters against Royal and Woolwich Arsenal. The first meeting was on 19 November, 1887, a friendly at our early base on Tottenham Marshes, a match abandoned because of poor light with 15 minutes to go with us 2-1 up. The first competitive clash between the teams was in the United League in November, 1896, a 2-1 win for the Gunners. Over 14,000 fans attended a United League game at our old Northumberland Park ground in 1898, and many were lucky to escape injury when the refreshment stand collapsed under the weight of fans who had climbed up to get a better view. There was an extraordinary match in the South District Combination League on 24 April, 1900 - abandoned after 75 minutes because of 'bad language' with Woolwich Arsenal leading 2-1! Nine years later, 4 December, 1909, the first league meeting between the teams at the Manor Ground in the First Division ended with a 1-0 win for the hosts.