From joy to defeat

North London Derby

The North London Derby is a highly anticipated event in the lives of Arsenal and Tottenham fans. This rivalry has been heated since 1913. As the clubs located closest to each other they have a local rivalry. The stadiums are only four miles apart, and both are top class teams in the premier league. With Arsenal needing a win in order to get 3 points closer to league leaders Chelsea, it was a big game. Tottenham were experiencing a spell of good form especially with the young Gareth Bale. The game was played at the Emirates Stadium, Arsenal’s home stadium. I’ve always been a fan of Arsenal and seeing a match was high on my London bucket list. Definitely a classic England experience, seeing a match should be on everyone’s to-do list. Tickets in hand and Arsenal jersey proudly displayed, as soon as I got on the tube, I could feel the energy. I was certainly not the only person on their way to the match and I spotted quite a few more Arsenal fans. As soon as I got out of the tube station I could hear the passion, chanting “North London is ours!” and a lot of “Arsenal” chants. The stadium was alive as all the fans yelled for their team. The Tottenham fans were also very vocal and very much louder than the average Arsenal fan. At kickoff all eyes were glued to the field. Every good move prompted lots of positive encouragement from the fans, “nice one!” “that’s my man” everyone wanted to voice their opinions. And off course with that profanity laced statements started coming when Tottenham almost scored. Not long into the first half, an excellent ball came in from Fabregas, directly to Nasri who got it out of the hands of the keeper and then took an extreme angle and slotted it into the net. The crowd went absolutely insane. Having been to many sports matches, from college football to baseball, the joy was unparalleled. Everyone was jumping, yelling, celebrating. That is what is great about rivalry matches. After another goal from Chamakh, the crowd was on fire. Everyone was feeling good about the 2-0 advantage and knew Arsenal would come out with the win. After halftime, Arsenal was playing well, however nothing seemed to go in. 15 minutes into the 2^nd half, Tottenham struck with a penalty for a handball. After that, it seemed Tottenham had the momentum and were on the attack. The crowds shushed once Tottenham started getting closer to goal and suddenly didn’t have anything to say. Poor defence allowed another Tottenham goal, and the crowd groaned. It was at this point when I slumped in my seat, and got pretty upset. With me, now checking my e-mail on my phone, disheartened by this terrible game, a third goal to put Tottenham up 3-2 was scored and all was lost. As with all home losses, after the game the crowds filed out, completely silent, with all the passion and excitement I had enjoyed seeing all gone. With everyone’s head down we walked our way to the tube station and just left. From a bystander point of view, it was a great game. From 2 down to coming back to win, is a very rare feat and should be applauded. However, even as a fan of good play, I was not amused.

 Kunal Lakhan-Pal