Hate or Envy? — The ridiculousness of the North London derby/rivalry

Are they really rivals when one side has nothing against the other?

Imagine the scenes if Tottenham Hotspur does their North London counterpart a favor by beating Manchester City and in turn handing Arsenal their first premier league title in 20-years?

While Spurs battle for Champions League spot, the Gunners would only be blocks away laughing about winning the league at the face of a bitter Tottenham. An irony and of course an agony for Spurs fans who will remain with the knowledge that the eventuality of their bitter rivals, Arsenal winning the league for the first time in 20-years came at the mercy of their team.

‘You know that moment when you help your arch enemy with the weapon that inevitably comes back to hurt you?’ — well, that is it.

But are they enemies though? Are Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal still considered rivals or just North London teams sharing the same City?

A rival has to be an equal, and a rivalry has to mean something that transcends hate or envy.

Though football has grown to become a fanatical sport where rivalries, passion and banter have become the driving force of its excitement, there are some rivalries that cannot be considered rivalries but more of local teams going at it.

Arsenal on success ratio shares no history with Spurs aside their North London geography. The two clubs have never really gone at it in terms of challenging the other for the same silverware like true rivals such as Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid have done in recent times, or like Everton and Liverpool used to prior to 1995.

In all round, Arsenal have a better success story compared to their North London counterpart.

If anything, the idea that Tottenham Hotspur fans would be bitter about their team beating Manchester City and potentially doing Arsenal a favor in the title race when Spurs can actually make it into Champions League spot next season, should be a reality check of what ‘rivalry’ means.

There is no rivalry between Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal, but two teams who selfishly cannot take the other doing well as long as they too are in the same boat.