At 6:30 AM on Saturday, while the Midwest sleeps, two Minneapolis bars (The Nomad & The Local) will be filling up with the Spurs white and Gunnersaurus red. It’s the biannual North London Derby between Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal and this season matters for more than just who will finish third and fifth (though, let’s be honest, one of these teams is finishing third).
I spoke with the heads of the local Spurs and Gooners supporters to get a sense of what their respective parties are going to be like. As a longtime Spurs fan, I would like to note that it is literally hurting me to not make Arsenal jokes, so just give me credit.
Bill Quirk, Minneapolis Spurs @MNspurs
Tell me about the watch party: where/when/what’s special for MN Spurs?
Bill: Minneapolis Spurs meet up at the Nomad on the West Bank. Derby kick off is 6:45 AM but the Nomad will be open beginning at 6:15; come early to grab a seat as we had ~200 people in the bar for the first derby and I expect at least that many this time around. Plan on hearing lots of singing from our supporters, who are a friendly and good natured bunch (but just don’t wear red!)
What’s at stake?
Bill: After dominating the first [North London Derby] for most of the match, it ended in a disappointing draw. With both teams fighting to usurp the surprising Leicester, three points is critical to the Premier League title race and to our Double hopes (Spurs are also playing in the Europa Cup, with German giant Dortmund up next). Two top table teams playing a derby match, it doesn’t get better than this!
Spurs fans are eternal pessimists, so prediction (scoreline, who will be the hero/villain)?
Bill: Haha, perhaps in years past that was the case, but Pochettino (Spurs manager) has the boys playing with confidence and the swagger of Spurs’ mighty 1960’s teams! We expect a tight match, but Spurs to prevail 2-1; 19-year old sensation Dele Alli and Harry Kane with the goals.
Eric Arsenal (Either his allegiance was announced at birth or he takes his roles as head of supporters group VERY seriously), MSP Gooners @MSPGooners
Tell me about the watch party: where/when/what’s special for MN Gooners?
Eric: The North London Derby is always a special time for us at The Local. Some of our largest attended matches are the ones against Tottenham although more people show up when there is a bigger club involved. Tottenham brings out our best and most passionate supporters. A 6:45am kickoff may mean only 120 Arsenal supporters make it out to enjoy their morning with us. While we have to wait until 8am until drinks get served, and food ordered, we will be at our brightest from kickoff. There will be a few Spurs supporters there as well, as they are too embarrassed to support Tottenham with the local group.
What’s at stake?
Eric: This particular match has a lot on the line in England and locally, with both current and historical significance. As it stands now, the point difference between the clubs could be anywhere from Arsenal +3 to Arsenal -9. Add in the fact that both clubs are near the top of the Premier League within distance of leaders Leicester City makes this particular match more interesting, and possibly more contentious. For Tottenham, this match takes on extra importance since the Premier League went to 20 clubs in 1995, they have yet to finish above Arsenal in the league. That record stands 20 years and counting currently. Arsenal are the only club that Tottenham have yet to finish a season above in the table in that time. It is quite possible that the only way Tottenham can finally finish above Arsenal will be to win the league for the first time since 1961, when TVs were in black and white. Looking at the MNSpurs twitter feed, they celebrate Tottenham being ahead of Arsenal in the table during the season like they won a trophy. We only need to remind them that they, and by extension us, have been in the situation before which we gladly point out to them in song form.
Prediction?
Eric: For this specific match, I see Arsenal handling their business but it won’t be easy. Dele Alli is a wonderful player and former Arsenal youth product Harry Kane likes to shine when Tottenham take on bigger and more historically successful clubs. On the Arsenal side, it all depends on who is out on the pitch. Danny Welbeck is on fine form after returning from injury, but hasn’t played a full 90 minutes since his return on Valentine’s Day. I reckon a 1-0 to the Arsenal scoreline.
If you want to know what do we think of Tottenham, you need only to show up at The Local on Saturday for the 6:45am kickoff to find out.
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