Arsenal shatter Spurs
Arsenal swept aside Tottenham on Saturday as two goals from Robin van Persie inspired a 3-0 victory over their north London rivals at the Emirates Stadium.
Arsene Wenger's side moved second in the Premier League table thanks to their first win against Spurs since December 2007, although they will be passed by Manchester United if the champions avoid defeat against Blackburn later on Saturday.
The Gunners had been frustrated for much of the first half but shattered Spurs with two goals in a minute just before the break.
Dutch striker van Persie opened the scoring in the 42nd minute when he turned in Bacary Sagna's cross at the near-post.
Tottenham were still recovering from that blow when Gunners captain Cesc Fabregas stole possession from the re-start and surged through the visitors' defence before sliding his shot past Heurelho Gomes.
Van Persie piled on the misery for Harry Redknapp's team in the 60th minute.
Referee Mark Clattenburg waved play on after Benoit Assou-Ekotto fouled Eduardo and, as Tottenham's defenders stood and watched, Sagna crossed for Van Persie to deflect the ball home from close-range.
''It's difficult to judge just how good this Tottenham team is but they certainly have potential and they have a big, talented squad,'' wrote Gunners boss Arsene Wenger in his programme notes.
Unfortunately for Harry Redknapp, three of his most attacking talents were unavailable as Luka Modric and Aaron Lennon were injured and Jermain Defoe suspended - so the Spurs boss chose to match Arsenal's formation and play Peter Crouch up front on his own and Robbie Keane on the left.
The plan worked well initially, with the home fans starting to get restless in frustration until the two goals in as many minutes just before the interval.
Spurs did not create much themselves but limited their rivals to half-chances, aside from when Ledley King's tackle on Andrey Arshavin fell for Fabregas with most of the goal to aim for. Even then Heurelho Gomes threw himself to his left to save the effort and grab the rebound from Nicklas Bendtner's toes.
Keane's pre-match comments suggested Spurs' squad was as good as Arsenal's, although their gameplan relied on stifling Wenger's side through hard work and punting the ball forward to Crouch.
Former Arsenal winger David Bentley, predictably jeered throughout, typified the work ethic. He snapped at heels on the right flank and was fortunate not to receive a booking when he cynically tripped Thomas Vermaelen, with referee Mark Clattenburg happy to keep his cards in his pocket during a feisty opening.
Clattenburg was referee during Arsenal's last defeat, seven weeks ago at Manchester City when Emmanuel Adebayor kicked Van Persie. Despite dropping points since, Arsenal have shown massive improvement since that match and eventually they came good against Spurs.
It emerged during the interval that the Spurs bench complained to stewards about the behaviour of Arsenal fans near the dug-out.
Tottenham ''died'' after Arsenal scored their first goal in the north London derby, according to man of the match Robin van Persie.
''They played with the right attitude, good spirit,'' he said. ''It was a tight, tough first half hour, but from the moment we scored the first goal they died basically.''
Van Persie said Fabregas' strike had more to do with his ability than Spurs' defensive frailties.
''(It was) his brilliance,'' said the Holland striker. ''Straight from the kick-off (Wilson) Palacios lost the ball, he went past Palacios and through Ledley King. To do that you need a lot of technique.''
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