North London derby day is upon us, and there is more than just bragging rights on the line when Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur meet at the Emirates at lunchtime.
Both sides have made blistering starts to the new campaign under their ever-ambitious coaches, with Mikel Arteta's side sitting pretty at the top of the table, with the chance to move out of sight of their bitter adversaries.
Meanwhile, the third-placed Lilywhites will leapfrog Arsenal into first place with all three points on rival turf, with Manchester City not in action until they face Manchester United in their own derby encounter.
Forever a fixture packed with ill discipline, feisty on-pitch battles and an array of stunning goals, Sports Mole picks out five of the Premier League's greatest North London derbies ahead of the latest instalment.
Tottenham 2-2 Arsenal - 25 April 2004
How Tottenham would have craved a historic victory against Arsenal in 2003-04 to end the Gunners' unbeaten run and delay their title coronation, but the Gunners travelled to White Hart Lane in the knowledge that a draw would be enough for their third Premier League crown.
The Arsene Wenger-led team did not travel to enemy territory with the intention of only taking one point back home, as captain Patrick Vieira took all of three minutes to poke home an opener from Dennis Bergkamp's pass.
Arsenal would seemingly enjoy a simple cruise to the finish line as Vieira turned provider for Robert Pires to slot home, but there was still some fight left in Tottenham following the interval.
Jamie Redknapp's first-time effort from a good 25 yards sparked new life into the White Hart Lane crowd with just over an hour played, and Jens Lehmann's foul on Robbie Keane would present the Spurs striker with the opportunity to level the scores with an emphatic penalty.
Despite the fierce nature of the derby, Arsenal ignored warnings from the powers-that-be to celebrate in front of their buoyant fans, and the Gunners' party mood was hardly soured by letting a two-goal lead slip.
Arsenal 4-2 Tottenham - December 2 2018
Unai Emery may have left Arsenal with a bitter taste in the mouth, but not before overseeing a thrilling victory over Tottenham in his first-ever North London derby.
Jan Vertonghen's handball handed Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang the chance to break the deadlock from 12 yards - which he did - but Eric Dier's near-post header and Harry Kane's controversial penalty saw the Lilywhites turn the first half around.
A scuffle ensued between both sets of players after Arsenal did not take kindly to Dier's shushing celebrations, and the England centre-back would soon be served a slice of humble pie after initially telling Aaron Ramsey to sit back down on the bench.
Instead, Emery introduced the Welshman into the fray alongside Alexandre Lacazette, and the former would lay off Aubameyang to curl home a stunning effort for 2-2 in the 56th minute.
Ramsey would again act as the provider for Lacazette's deflected effort off of Dier to give Arsenal a 3-2 lead, and the omnipresent Lucas Torreira would fire home into the corner to complete a stellar turnaround for those in red.
Arsenal 5-2 Tottenham - 26 February 2012
Either one of Arsenal's successive 5-2 successes over Tottenham at the Emirates could have made the list, but we have opted for the original seven-goal thriller as the Gunners sought to avenge a 3-2 home loss from the 2010-11 season.
Wenger's side would be forced to fight an uphill battle in order to do so, as Louis Saha's deflected effort and the villain Emmanuel Adebayor's penalty put Tottenham 2-0 up - the latter chose to keep his celebrations to a minimum this time.
With Arsenal under the cosh, now-manager Arteta picked out the man who hardly ever scored - Bacary Sagna - to reduce the deficit before Harry Redknapp witnessed Robin Van Persie turn away from Niko Kranjcar and curl home a delightful effort into the corner.
The mood in the two dressing rooms at half time could have hardly been more contrasting, and within six minutes of the second half, Arsenal took the lead for the first time through Tomas Rosicky's neat flick.
A quickfire brace from Theo Walcott would complete the job for Wenger's team, who still sat seven points behind third-placed Tottenham after that win, but they would eventually pip the Lilywhites to a podium finish thanks in no small part to that pulsating 5-2 win.
Tottenham 4-5 Arsenal - 13 November 2004
Living up to Arsenal's title-clinching 2-2 draw at White Hart Lane just six months down the line would have taken some doing, but a Tottenham side preoccupied with the thoughts of revenge would give their North London rivals an extremely good run for their money in November 2004.
Arsenal had already fallen behind Chelsea in the race to defend their crown after their 49-game unbeaten run was brought to an end by Manchester United, and Martin Jol's side took the lead at White Hart Lane through Noureddine Naybet in the 37th minute.
Thierry Henry's equaliser, Lauren's penalty and Vieira's finish would turn the tie on its head, but Spurs were not giving up the ghost, as a spectacular Jermain Defoe solo goal would cut down the deficit.
Goals from Freddie Ljungberg, Ledley King and Pires would follow during an all-action second half, and Spurs fought right until the end as Frederic Kanoute hit the ninth goal of the day in the 87th minute, but it was ultimately in vain.
Arsenal 4-4 Tottenham - 29 October 2008
© Reuters
Not a single Tottenham victory features on this list, but the celebrations told the story when Spurs rescued a 4-4 draw at the Emirates in 2008, as the home crowd left aghast at the visitors' injury-time fightback.
Ex-Arsenal youngster David Bentley showed his old club exactly what they were missing with that astounding long-range dipping volley over Manuel Almunia, but two unlikely names in William Gallas and Mikael Silvestre came up with a pair of headers to put the Gunners ahead.
Between the 64th and 68th minute, Adebayor, Darren Bent and Van Persie all had the back of the net in a goal-laden period, and the writing was seemingly on the wall for Spurs heading into the dying embers.
The away end was already looking bare when Jermaine Jenas surged forward after Gael Clichy's slip in the 89th minute to curl home into the far corner, but few in the stadium thought it would not be any more than a consolation.
However, with four minutes of added time on the clock, Luka Modric tried to rival Bentley's long-range volley with one of his own - which crashed off the post - but the goal was then at Aaron Lennon's mercy.
With Almunia sprawled on the floor, the Englishman reacted quickest to complete a remarkable comeback in front of the away end, whose wild celebrations could be heard all across North London.
Ben Knapton
