Tottenham face rivals Arsenal at Wembley this weekend in a potentially crucial match in the battle for a top-four finish.
It will be Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s first north London derby – but the striker is no stranger to facing Tottenham.
Arsenal’s recent signing has scored four times in four appearances against Spurs, averaging a goal every 88 minutes – that’s a better strike rate than former Gunners stars Robin van Persie, Thierry Henry, Emmanuel Adebayor and Robert Pires.
Statistics from daily fantasy football game Oulala.com suggest Tottenham have reason to be wary ahead of Saturday’s big game.
Aubameyang faced Spurs twice for Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League group stages of this season’s competition. He did not score at Wembley but did find the net against them in Germany – his fourth goal against Tottenham in as many games after netting three times against them in the last 16 of the Europa league in 2015/16, twice at White Hart Lane and once in Germany.
Van Persie, the last Arsenal player to win the Premier League Golden Boot, netted 30 goals in 38 appearances in 2011/12, averaging a goal every 111 minutes.
However, the Dutchman’s record against Spurs failed to match those figures. In 18 appearances against Tottenham, Van Persie found the back of the net six times – five for Arsenal and once for Manchester United. That’s an average of a goal every 195 minutes.
Arsenal’s all-time record goalscorer, Henry, scored 228 goals in 377 appearances for the club, averaging a goal every 132 minutes.
But in 11 appearances against Spurs, the Frenchman’s minutes-per-goal average dropped to a goal every 179 minutes for each of the five he scored against them.
The north London derby’s overall top scorer in the Premier League era is Adebayor with eight goals.
Adebayor also faced Tottenham for Real Madrid (twice), Manchester City (3 times) and Crystal Palace (once), scoring a total of 10 goals in 15 appearances against them (eight for Arsenal and two for Real), boasting a record of a goal every 115 minutes.
Pires’ record against Tottenham made him something of a legend at Arsenal.
Pires scored more goals (five) than any other player (Arsenal or Spurs) in Premier League north London derbies at White Hart Lane. And he never lost a north London derby.
Pires’ eight goals in 13 appearances against Spurs came at an exceptional average of a goal every 113 minutes.
Not only does Aubameyang’s goal rate beat that – it even eclipses Harry Kane’s derby strike rate.
The Spurs hitman has scored six goals in seven appearances against Arsenal. That’s an average of a goal every 100 minutes.