Top 5 Most Memorable Moments In London Derby History

Image Credit

These matches are some of the fiercest, most exciting, and feisty outings in the English footballing calendar, often entertaining the football world with plenty of goals, hard tackles, and controversies.

London is unarguably England’s football capital, hosting fourteen teams in the top four tiers of English professional football. Moreover, these matches usually attract the most attention on sportsbooks like FanDuel.com, and they always give viewers globally lots of news and moments to banter about, with remarkable action and stories coming from these outings now and then.

Top 5 Derbies In London History

Here, we’ll consider the best London derbies in history and highlight some of the most memorable moments at the events.

 

5. Brentford vs. Fulham

This West London derby between Fulham and Brentford was a fierce outing in the 80s and 90s, featuring regular clashes between the players on the pitch and among the fans.

However, the feud started fading during Fulham’s run in the top-tier league, but their return to lower leagues after the 2019/20 season must have reignited the flames.

 

4. Chelsea vs. Tottenham

With Chelsea vs. Tottenham coming this far behind on this ranking, you want to get set for some interesting derbies on this list. Tottenham became one of England’s top sides under Mauricio Pochettino during a period when Chelsea’s position as the city’s best club was threatened.

Perhaps one of the most memorable moments in London Derby history is the Battle of the Bridge in 2016. The remarkable event featured tons of yellow cards, with a thousand reasons for red cards, showcasing the spiked animosity between the Tottenham and Chelsea football clubs.

 

3. Arsenal vs. Chelsea

Chelsea fans likely have no better fun in the game than when they defeat Arsenal, regardless of how the season is going: a win against the Gunners could lighten a notorious season for the Blues fans.

Whereas Arsenal has held the record of being London’s finest club for years, Chelsea has the more recent success. Since the Gunners gave up their reign to Chelsea in the mid-2000s, they haven’t returned to top form but still have history on their side with more silverware.

 

2. Millwall vs. West Ham

The Dockers derby is one of the most renowned rivalries in a London derby, except that both sides hardly face themselves in a football match these days.

A highlight of the intense competition between both sides was the fully-fledged 2009 riot during a match between both teams. Maybe it’s fair that both teams don’t often meet recently as their matches feature intense clashes between players and fans in the stadium.

1. Arsenal vs. Tottenham

Here are the most notable London derbies. The North London battle between Tottenham and Arsenal has been one of the most interesting events in any season. Since Arsenal moved to Highbury in 1913, these two teams got a location-based cause for rivalry, and that intense rivalry has continued ever since.

The results have gone either way in recent years, making it impossible to predict the next North London derby between both sides. Fans have to watch every new event to know what happens, and the derby hardly disappoints the preceding hype.

 

Most Memorable Moments In London Derby History

Now we head to some of the most thrilling events in the history of London derbies. The team doesn’t change how many points a club gets, but some victories seem worth much more than others.

In this list are some of the most memorable matches in some of the above London derbies. Here we go.

1. Arsenal’s 2004 League Triumph

Arsenal’s 2003 – 2004 season was a masterclass the Gunners can’t forget any time soon. Their lifting the trophy at the White Hart Lane would spice the victory even further.

Tottenham fans, though, would leave the stadium with a weary smile after salvaging a draw from being 2-nil down, courtesy of Robbie Keane’s late-minute penalty. However, Arsenal fans had the day and season.

 

2. Tottenham Trashing Arsenal 5-1 in 2008

The most exciting side to this story would have to be that Tottenham had failed to beat their fierce North London rivals between November 1999 and January 2008.

But when the D-day came, during the second leg of the League Cup semi-finals, Tottenham recorded an emphatic 5-1 win over Arsenal in a match that saw a faceoff between teammates William Gallas and Nicklas Bendtner.

 

3. Thierry Henry’s Goal and Celebration Against Tottenham in 2002

To show how important this match meant to both teams, the Emirates immortalized Thierry Henry’s heroics in this 2002 match against Tottenham. During the match, which saw Arsenal defeat Tottenham 3-0 at Highbury, Thierry Henry scored one of the best solo goals in Premier League history.

But his stunning solo goal wasn’t the only remarkable thing about the event. Henry ran the pitch’s length to celebrate in front of the Spurs away end to seal an iconic memory in the minds of fans of both sides.

 

4. Arsene Wenger Shoving Jose Mourinho aside at Stamford Bridge in 2014

Wenger and Mourinho had an ongoing rivalry all the while, but their fight had always been through the game and never went physical. Wenger was displeased with a hard tackle by Gary Cahill and wanted to give Mourinho a piece of his mind right on the spot.

Arsene Wenger left his managerial area to speak with Mourinho, to be met by Jose Mourinho, who also stepped out of his box. Wenger shoved Mourinho severally. Both veterans even had a heated conversation later around the incident, though Chelsea went on to win the match 2-nil.

 

5. Chelsea’s 6-0 Win Against Tottenham in 2014

Here’s one of the memorable London derbies: one Chelsea fans would like to recollect as they trashed Arsenal 6-0 in a Premier League showdown. However, one of the factors that made this defeat even more embarrassing for the Gunners was that it occurred during Arsene Wenger’s 1000th game in charge.

The Blues discolored the historic day for Arsenal, scoring three goals by the 17th minute, and went all the way to wreck more damage to Arsene Wenger’s side. At the end of the game, Mourinho bragged, ‘We came to kill, and in 10 minutes, we destroyed.’

 

Conclusion

The fierce rivalry between football teams in the English football capital has gone on for decades. Fans continue to have a reason to look out for the next showdown between Arsenal, Tottenham, or Chelsea.

Of course, the history books also show that Fulham vs. Brentford used to be intense. Fans certainly don’t have a shortage of entertaining London derbies to watch with the new season here.