Arsenal Women’s North London Derby to be hosted at Spurs’ new stadium

The Women’s World Cup was wildly successful in terms of viewership; England’s semi-final with the USA was the most-watched program on the BBC thus far in 2019, and viewing records were set in various countries around the world. Looking to capitalize on that success, several FA WSL teams are hosting matches at men’s stadiums: on the opening day of the season, Manchester City will host Manchester United Women at the Etihad, while Chelsea Women will host Tottenham Hotspur Women at Stamford Bridge.

Now, the first North London Derby to take place in the Women’s Super League will be at Tottenham’s delayed stadium, meaning that Arsenal Women, because of the delay in opening their new stadium, will be the first iteration of Arsenal to play at Spurs’ new and pathetically late ground when the two meet on November 17. The fixture is during an international break, and is a standalone match. The last time Arsenal and Tottenham met, in the FA Cup in 2018, Arsenal ran out 10-0 winners.

Arsenal have played most recently in a men’s Premier League stadium at the end of last season, when they clinched the title in front of about five thousand fans at Brighton’s stadium, the Amex. Indeed, Arsenal are using the upcoming Emirates Cup as a trial. Arsenal Women will play at 12:30 against Bayern Munich, with the men playing at 3:00 PM. If there’s a large attendance for the women’s game, playing games at the Emirates could be more feasible.