‘Two nil and you…’: The best and worst of swearing in the north London derby

Published by

Jack McRae

on

15th Jan 2025

_{^{Robin van Persie and Mikel Arteta lead discussions ahead of Arsenal’s 5-2 victory over Tottenham in 2012.}}

In 2008, Lily Allen released her second album ‘It’s Not Me, It’s You’ and my parents would buy one of the two million copies sold worldwide. Naturally, my sisters and I, aged between five and nine, found amusement in blasting the words ‘Fuck you, fuck you very, very much” on maximum volume out of our parents’ stereo when the cheerful and feisty hook of the song ‘Fuck You’ kicked in.

We obviously didn’t know it then but, research suggests, swearing starts to regularly enter a young person’s vocabulary around the age of 11. Before that age, forbidden words provide a daring, cheap thrill at every use, both said and heard, even with a popular song.

Like Allen, football fans are not short on creativity when it comes to letting their emotions spill out in a cacophony of curses. On Wednesday night, the most emotive game in an Arsenal fan’s calendar kicks off as Tottenham Hotspur make the short trip down the Seven Sisters Road to the Emirates.

I was a few months short of crossing that 11-year-old swearing threshold when I went to my first north London derby. Going into the game on 26 February 2012, Arsenal, reeling from a 4-0 thumping at the San Siro by AC Milan, trailed their rivals by two places and 10 points.

When Spurs raced into a 2-0 lead after 34 minutes, courtesy of Louis Saha and Emmanuel Adebayor, it appeared certain that the Gunners would finish below Spurs for the first time since 1995. Harry Redknapp’s side had a balanced blend of youth and experience that outplayed a shoddy, Robin van Persie-carried Arsenal.

Then, in the 40th minute, Bacary Sagna scored a powerful header. Three minutes later, Van Persie curled in a beauty from distance. After being in control, Spurs had been pegged back by halftime.

Tomas Rosicky scored in the 51st minute and then a brace from Theo Walcott completed a rout before the game had even reached the 70th minute. The sun shone and the normality of Arsenal’s supremacy over Spurs was restored.

Revelling in the ‘Spursy’ demise, the Arsenal fans chorused ‘Two nil, and you fucked it up…’ – a simple, defining chant that delighted my impressionable ears.

Spurs would squander their 10 point lead and finish fourth, behind the third-placed Gunners. Chelsea winning the Champions League also meant that, despite initially finishing in the qualification spots, Spurs were confined to yet another Europa League campaign.

_{^{The Arsenal players revel in victory, seranaded by the fans chanting “Two nil and you fucked it up.”}}

Rivalries bring such entertainment in football. Mocking Spurs’ consistent ability to outdo their own embarrassment is a right of passage for any Arsenal fan, young and old, even if it’s full of colourful language.

As it is in football and music alike, swearing has its place in moments of heightened emotion. At its best, swearing is expressive and articulates emotions that other words cannot. But, at its worst, it can be vile, offensive and discriminatory.

It is not uncommon for chanting in the north London derby to stray into the latter category. The popular ‘What do we think of Tottenham?’ song is sung everywhere. It is funny, easy to follow and well known. But, unfortunately, it is often followed by chants of the anti-semitic Y-word.

In 2023, the Community Security Trust recorded 4,103 reports of anti-Jewish hate incidents, close to double the previous record of 2,255 in 2021. It is likely a sad inevitability that such language will be used flippantly again on Wednesday night. Even if it is a small minority of supporters, it is still uncomfortable to see, hear and know that they are part of the same club as you.

The fixture has a well-documented history of discrimination. In January 2023, there were two separate incidents of anti-semitism by Arsenal fans during and after their club’s 2-0 victory. There was also an investigation by Arsenal into anti-semitism in 2018.

Beyond words come actions too. Spurs captain Son Heung-min has been the target of racism by fans from across the Premier League, including by an Arsenal fan in 2020. A Spurs fan was fined and handed a ban from the sport after throwing a banana peel at a celebrating Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in 2018.

Too often in football, and the north London derby, fans go beyond what is acceptable.

Arsenal and Spurs share a spectacular rivalry. Some of the best games I have seen have been in the north London derby and the first of two successive 5-2 victories over Spurs at the Emirates is etched in my mind as a favourite childhood memory.

Laughing and singing about how Spurs ‘fucked it up’ again will always be funny to that 11-year-old watching the football and taking in the atmosphere. Only profanity can truly encapsulate the mess Spurs so often find themselves in, including this season.

But the choice of those words is of utmost importance. An impressionable child will pick up swear words like sweets off the counter. Ensuring chants do not stray into the abusive, anti-semitic and racist bile is the duty of every match-going fan, firstly to protect players or fans from harm, but also in the knowledge that they are potentially sat next to a similarly swear-word-intrigued 11-year-old.

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