FOOTBALL remains a tribal pastime, no matter how gentrified it becomes or how marginalised the game’s traditional audience appears to be. At some clubs, the fans’ love of their club is defined by how much they hate their rivals. Arsenal and Tottenham are a case in point; go to any game at either stadium and you will hear, at some point, chants like “stand up if you hate Tottenham” or vice-versa. The fact is, these clubs need each other, just as Celtic need Rangers, Manchester United need Manchester City and Liverpool need Everton.
Arsenal have introduced a club song, “North London Forever”, an attempt to create a pre-match vibe comparable to those found in Spain, Italy and Germany and other countries. It’s a nice touch and when the entire crowd breaks into voice at, say, Barcelona, it can be an emotional experience. But in Arsenal’s case, they are one of two North London clubs, and if indeed North London is “forever” then it is for the Spurs too. Maybe it would be more appropriate to be N7 forever?
Interestingly, it is probable very few of the fans of both clubs actually live in North London. Judging by the exodus out of London after one of their home games, Spurs and Arsenal fans are just as likely to be found in Hertfordshire and Essex as they are in Islington or Edmonton. This would surely apply to many London clubs, whose support has been handed down across generations but the “family” has long since moved out of the capital to the new towns and other suburbs. Local rivalry is a battle of the brands rather than local competitiveness, because very few clubs do not represent their neighbourhoods any more. For example, does the multi-cultural crowd at Chelsea really see their club as vying for control of South-West London, or are they drawn to Stamford Bridge by the Blues’ record of winning trophies by the score since 2004? And does the young striker from Ghana, Georgia or Greece see himself as one of the fans’ own?
Ask most Chelsea fans who they consider to be their biggest rivals and they won’t say Fulham or QPR, their nearest clubs, they will undoubtedly list Arsenal and may well add Liverpool and Manchester City. Crystal Palace have Charlton Athletic and Millwall on their doorstep, but who is their big “derby” against? Brighton and Hove Albion, a source of tension that dates back only to the mid-1970s when both clubs were trying to get out of the old third division.
Millwall’s rivalry with West Ham United is often talked about, but in recent times, they have rarely met – their last clash was in 2012 and 77 of their 99 meetings took place before the second world war. And yet, hooligan culture often references Millwall and West Ham United as _the_ heated battle for local supremacy.
Local derbies have, historically, been all about “bragging rights” in the workplace and a contribution to worker morale, but those days have long gone as the streets around stadiums have emptied and inner-city football grounds have been pulled down and moved to exits off motorways and retail parks.
While London derbies used to be a highlight of the calendar, today’s players have very little in common with the location of their employer. The squads of Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham have very few English players, let alone local lads. The only player in Arsenal’s first team squad from nearby is Ethan Nwaneri, who was born in Islington. Chelsea have lads like Tosin Adarabiyo (Paddington) and Tyrique George (Camden) but nobody from SW6. West Ham is another multi-cultural squad with Freddie Potts from Barking and Kyle Walker-Peters from Edmonton (he started with Spurs, his nearest club).
There are currently seven London clubs in the Premier League, which means there are 42 derbies, representing more than 11% of the overall fixture list. There was a time when the popular view suggested local derbies could often result in unexpected scorelines, which in turn could seriously impact the outcome of the league. Is that really the case now in an age where teams of hired guns have no cultural allegiance to their clubs?
**Premier League London derbies 2025-26**
**AFC**
**BFC**
**CFC**
**CPFC**
**FUL**
**THFC**
**WHU**
**Arsenal**
X
2-0
**Brentford**
X
2-2
**Chelsea**
X
0-0
2-0
**Crystal P.**
X
**Fulham**
3-1
X
**Spurs**
X
**West Ham**
1-5
1-2
0-3
X
Game of the People was founded in 2012 and is ranked among the 100 best football websites by various sources. The site consistently wins awards for its work, across a broad range of subjects. [View all posts by Neil Fredrik Jensen](https://gameofthepeople.com/author/georgefjord/)