Harry Kane dominates top North London Derby goalscorers list beating Henry & Bale

The North London Derby is a match that almost always delivers and with the two rivals back on our screens this weekend, we are taking a look at the men who left the biggest marks.

So as the two clubs get ready for their match at the Emirates on Sunday, here are the top goal scorers of this fixture in the Premier League era.

=5 Robin van Persie – 5 goals

Van Persie only played against Chelsea more than Spurs but he found the net in just five of the 18 matches he played against them.

To begin with, he endured a derby drought as he failed to score in his first seven meetings but broke his duck in style in 2008 with a goal and two assists as part of a 4-4 draw at the Emirates.

The following year, he scored twice and assisted the other for a 3-0 win before scoring his first goal at White Hart Lane in 2011.

Van Persie’s final derby goal came in 2012 although he did score against Spurs one final time while playing for Manchester United in 2013.

=5 Thierry Henry – 5 goals

Despite his long career with Arsenal, Henry scored relatively few goals against their biggest rivals and netted against 19 sides more frequently.

But still, Henry never lost against them and scored his first derby goal in 2000 as part of a 2-1 win at Highbury.

He repeated the trick the following year but then missed out scoring in the 2001-02 campaign.

Normal service was resumed in 2002 with a goal and an assist and Henry scored his first goal at White Hart Lane in 2004.

=5 Gareth Bale – 5 goals

Bale’s goals are surprisingly spread out with him scoring in his first North London Derby and then having to wait three more games for his next.

In the 2010-11 season, he scored as part of a 3-2 win at the Emirates but then did not score again until the 2012-13 season. That year saw him score his final derby goal, an equaliser as part of a 2-1 win for Spurs.

4. Robert Pires – 8 goals

Pires’ most famous derby goal came in only his third match against them as his 74th-minute winner sent Arsenal, not Spurs, to the FA Cup final.

In the league, Pires scored two in his first three games against Tottenham and then scored in four consecutive derbies from 2003 to 2005. His final goal came in the 2005-06 season where his effort earned Arsenal a 1-1 draw at White Hart Lane.

3. Son Heung-min – 9 goals

The derby on Sunday will have a different feel to it with Son Heung-Min no longer playing for Spurs.

He opened the scoring the last time the two met in what was his ninth goal against Arsenal. That scoring run dates back to 2020 but Son actually went his first nine games against Arsenal without a goal, although he quickly made up for it.

Between 2020 and 2022, Son scored in four of the five derbies and was again on the score sheet in the 2023-24 season, scoring twice in the away leg and once at home.

Can you name every player with 10+ Premier League assists for Tottenham?

2. Emmanuel Adebayor – 10 goals

One of few players to play on both sides of the divide, Adebayor scored his first derby goal in 2006 as part of a routine 3-0 win for Arsenal. That same season, he scored the equaliser to deny Spurs victory at White Hart Lane.

These two goals came as part of five consecutive scoring appearances for Adebayor against Spurs but, following a move to Man City and a rather famous knee slide, he committed the cardinal sin of joining Tottenham in 2011.

Now in white instead of red, Adebayor scored a consolation goal in a 5-2 thumping at the Emirates and did so again the following season as part of the same scoreline.

Those two goals would prove to be the only ones he would score for Spurs against their biggest rivals.

1. Harry Kane – 14 goals

Kane announced himself in the North London Derby at his very first attempt when he scored both goals in Spurs’ win over Arsenal in 2015.

That was the beginning of a run of five consecutive games against Spurs’ biggest rivals in which he scored and even if he failed to net in the away fixture of the 2017-18 campaign, he was right back at it with a goal in the next four.

In total, Kane scored 14 goals against Arsenal with one in the League Cup meaning when his move to Bayern was confirmed, fans in the Emirates were happier than most.

Kane continued to haunt Arsenal fans though when Bayern visited during the 2023-24 Champions League quarter-finals and he was on the scoresheet once again.

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