Arsenal’s bitter rivalry with Tottenham Hotspur dates back over 100 years, but the red side of North London has almost always been dominant throughout this time.
Historically, Arsenal are the bigger and more successful club than Spurs, in terms of trophies and global fanbase, and Mikel Arteta has reestablished league dominance over Tottenham in the last two seasons.
Arsenal’s size and popularity across the globe also means that plenty of current footballers all over the Premier League grew up supporting the club.
Current players will have spent their childhoods watching Arsene Wenger’s Arsenal, with the likes of Thierry Henry and Cesc Fabregas inspiring generations of footballers, and this even includes some current Spurs players.
Tottenham’s record goalscorer Harry Kane was notably an Arsenal fan who came through the youth system at the club, whilst other former players including Serge Aurier and Darren Bent have also admitted that they supported the Gunners before or even after their spells at Spurs.
Four current Spurs stars did grow up supporting Arsenal, and it will be interesting to see how they fare in the upcoming North London Derby.
Dominic Solanke grew up supporting Arsenal
Spurs spent a record £65m to sign Bournemouth striker Dominic Solanke this summer, but fans saw the funny side as his previous comments about Arsenal emerged.
“Would have probably been Arsenal,” Solanke replied when asked what his first football shirt was.
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“Yeah, my dad was an Arsenal fan, so I used to follow them. I went to a few Emirates Cups, back in the day.
“Back in the day, when you’re young, you love watching football and stuff. When you actually, like, grow up and you start playing against the teams, it’s a bit hard to support a team.”
Solanke has failed to score, assist or win in five games for Bournemouth against Arsenal, and it is hoped that this streak will continue as he returns from injury for his first North London Derby.
What Tottenham Hotspur star James Maddison previously said about Arsenal
Before Arsenal signed Martin Odegaard in the summer of 2021, they were heavily linked with Leicester City midfielder James Maddison, who then moved to Spurs two years later.
Fans were quick to point out a series of now-deleted posts on X from the England International, in which he praised Arsenal players and slammed Spurs sensation Gareth Bale over 10 years ago.
“I hate Gareth Bale with a passion, calm down you monkey, [Jack] Wilshere is 10x better than you chimpanzee,” Maddison tweeted on 17th November 2012, the same day as Arsenal’s second 5-2 victory over Spurs at the Emirates Stadium.
“Hope Luis Suarez destroys Tottenham today, don’t like Spurs! Especially that monkey everyone’s on about!” He posted a few months later.
However, it is unclear whether his previous dislike for Spurs does make him an Arsenal fan despite all evidence pointing towards it, as he denied any Arsenal links shortly after joining Spurs.
“I’ve never in my life been a Gooner, just for the record,” he commented on his Instagram early on in his Spurs career.
Dejan Kulusevski admitted his love for Arsenal
Tottenham winger Dejan Kulusevski had a fast start in North London after arriving in January 2022, but has been fairly inconsistent since.
Nevertheless, the Swedish winger is talented, and given his position and nationality, he has been compared with Arsenal legend Freddie Ljungberg.
Kulusevski probably grew up idolizing Ljungberg, and he has actually admitted his admiration for The Gunners on several occasions.
“My favourite team is Arsenal because I like everything about the club, the city, the players and the way they play football,” he stated on the Swedish Lundh Podcast early on in his career in Serie A.
Kulusevski then caused fury as he hinted at his desire to play for Arsenal whilst still at Spurs. He joined Tottenham on an initial loan with an obligation to buy, but before the permanent deal was confirmed, he hinted that he would one day love to play on the other side of the North London divide.
“There’s one team I’ve always wanted to play for, and I think I will play there one day. But I don’t want to say what team it is because it’s sensitive stuff. But people close to me know,” he stated in the summer of 2022.
Who knows, perhaps we could see Kulusevski follow the path of Sol Campbell, in playing for both Arsenal and Tottenham.
Yves Bissouma has previous connections with Arsenal
Before he joined Spurs, Arsenal were interested in signing Yves Bissouma from Brighton, and it was reported at the time that he was a fan of the club.
Bissouma even played alongside Gabriel Magalhaes at Lille, but he ended up joining Tottenham two years ago.
The midfielder did anger Arsenal fans back in 2019, as he was pictured laughing at the crestfallen players after Unai Emery’s side drew with Brighton, costing them a place in the top four, despite his boyhood admiration for the Gunners, and it is easy to see why a move never materialised.