Published: 26 February, 2012

Premier League

ARSENAL 5, SPURS 2

by TOM FOOT at the Emirates

THE Man City striker Emmanuel Adebayor, on loan to Tottenham, is wheeling away from the penalty spot, every inch the pantomime villain, clutching the badge and pointing to the heavens.

Spurs are 2-0 up inside 34 minutes and the nightmare of an unprecedented derby day drubbing is coming true. The atmosphere is sheer fury.

It felt like a lifetime passed between those angry lows and the final whistle, when this misfiring, worst Arsenal side for more than a decade had cantered to a 5-2 victory over the best Spurs side since Gascoigne and Lineker.

Such was their superiority that no fan grumbled when Carl Jenkinson came on for the final 20 minutes.

Hundreds of Tottenham fans left early – like bedraggled cats caught in a rain shower – staring blankly at each other, in disbelief.

"Arsenal is alive more than anyone thought," said Gunners boss Arsene Wenger after a match that he will hope can raise the spirits enough to overtake Spurs in the Premier League table come May.

"Everything was perfect, despite a very bad start. Tottenham started well, but I knew if we maintained the pace we would win the game."

The first away goal came on three minutes after a church door opened up in the Gunners' defence, allowing Adebayor time to find Louis Saha. His shot deflected off Thomas Vermaelen and looped agonisingly over the stranded Szceszny.

Huge holes were opening up all over the pitch for Spurs to exploit. Arsenal, with the unusual pairing of Yossi Benayoun and Tomas Rosicky in midfield, looked disjointed, and Kieron Gibbs looked out of his depth.

Robin van Persie missed from five yards on 32 minutes, and then the penalty came. Gareth Bale went sprawling under two challenges from Szczesny and Koscielny. It looked like a penalty at first, but replays showed little contact, although at that pace it was a tough call for the referee Mike Dunn.

Arsenal rallied, with Rosicky drawing a point-black reaction save from Brad Friedel with a flicked-on header.

A comeback seemed on the cards, and when Bacary Sagna powered home a header on 40 minutes there was real hope. Three minutes later van Persie took three touches to pivot into a perfect shooting position and, with deadly accuracy, he curled his shot into the bottom-left corner.

"That was an amazing goal," said Spurs boss Harry Redknapp after the match. "They had a bit of quality in the end. They had their tails up at half-time and they were full of it."

Theo Walcott was yet to find his feet and caught the brunt of fans' frustrations, even after much-maligned Rosicky – superb throughout – nipped in at the near post on 51 minutes to put the Gunners ahead.

Wenger said after the match he considered taking Walcott off at half-time because of the boos.

"The crowd were starting to get on his back," said Wenger. "He is a very direct player, and, considering the balance of our team, I thought it was important to keep him in the side."

With pomp restored to the Emirates, for the first time in months, van Persie fed Walcott on 62 minutes. He found the net with a little chip over Friedel and three minutes later lashed another shot past the American. Scott Parker was then sent off for a second yellow card after treading on Vermaelen's foot.

Redknapp had previously said his aim this season was to finish above Arsenal. The gap is now seven points but Wenger said it was still possible to catch them.

Wenger added: "If we can keep consistency, it is possible, of course. We had good maturity today, a great spirit. We played the way we want to play football."