Match Centre: Tottenham 2-1 Arsenal

Follow our live coverage of the North London Derby at White Hart Lane as Arsenal travels to Tottenham. Keep refreshing the page to stay updated, and share your thoughts with us via Twitter @afootballreport!

Full Time. Tottenham 2-1 Arsenal

So jubilation for Spurs, and true disappointment for Arsenal. There were a few heroes for Tottenham tonight, most notably 19-year-old Danny Rose, who scored one of the goals of the season with his vicious first-time 30-yard left-footed volley, and Gomes, who denied chance after chance in the closing minutes of the match. Robin van Persie is back, and he took no time making his presence felt, nearly scoring three times. Tottenham now look set to challenge Manchester City for the final Champions League spot after Aston Villa drew Everton 2-2, and are now six points behind Tottenham. Arsenal, though valiant in their attempts to come back from 2-0 down, must now concede that they have played yet another season without winning any trophies. Injuries have plagued the Gunners, as you have to wonder how this game would have been different with Fabregas, Ramsey, Arshavin, Gallas, Song, etc… Anyway, the title looks set to go to Chelsea, but who knows, Tottenham could very well beat them at White Hart Lane on Saturday!

Minute by Minute Report

90+4º Just seconds left now. Bentley wins a corner for Tottenham, the game looks done.

90+2º Spurs in the corner taking a bit of time from the clock. Not much time left.

90º This is a nail-biter, Arsenal dominating possession and pouring on the pressure.

88º Van Persie with another great shot, but Gomes is there once again. Tottenham subbing Crouch on for Pavlyuchenko, probably just to waste a bit of time.

87º It really must be said how tremendous of an influence Van Persie has had since coming on, he’s been spectacular. Modric’s first touch takes away a clear goalscoring opportunity.

85º Goal! Tottenham 2-1 Arsenal! Walcott curls it around the back for Bendtner, who cannot miss from six yards out. We’re set for quite the finish now, aren’t we?

84º Gomes robs Van Persie once again, pushing the effort away. Then Sol Campbell’s header is tapped against the bar by Gomes. This guy is playing out of his mind!

83º Diaby turns Dawson 20 yards from goal. Dawson is shown a yellow card, and this is a great opportunity for Van Persie.

82º Another opportunity as van Persie’s cross falls to Rosicky, and his shot is deflected for yet another Arsenal corner.

81º Superb skill from van Persie, collecting a cross on his chest and volleying it powerfully straight at Gomes. But Gomes somehow parries it, Arsenal corner.

79º Despair in the eyes of the traveling Arsenal supporters. Even if they manage to somehow bring it back to 2-2, the title is probably still out of the club’s reach.

76º Rosicky sums up the aggravation felt by his side at the moment at he gets his shot from distance completely wrong, tapping the corner flag.

74º The work rate by Tottenham has been second to none throughout the whole game, and you have to think that the current scoreline reflects the game well enough.

70º Gudjohnsen misses a sitter with his first touch of the ball, while Van Persie’s first touch was sheer class. The Dutchman has really added a spark to this match already. Both teams starting to look tired.

68º Gudjohnsen on for Defoe. Robin van Persie on for Denilson. Two very interesting changes. Denilson really did not do much to make an impact today besides chasing people down.

66º Bendtner should have put that on target! His angled shot just goes wide, and now van Persie is moments away from coming on.

64º Arsenal passing the ball around well, but they still don’t look dangerous at all.

63º Less than 30 minutes to go now. There’s another goal in this game. But will it finish the game off or make it more enticing? Hopefully the latter.

61º Spurs just sitting in front of goal at the moment, then countering. It’s working because Arsenal are wasting chance after chance after chance. Wenger, get Robin van Persie on there!

60º Walcott plays an awful ball that merely goes directly to Gomes.

57º Nasri plays Walcott through, but Gomes does well to get off his line and snatch the ball from the English speedster.

55º Lovely interplay between Bale and Bentley, but Pavlyuchenko is overpowered and is dispossessed. Even so, Tottenham have the upper hand and Arsene Wenger is starting to look visibly frustrated.

53º Theo Walcott is on for Bacary Sagna. Eboue wastes a good Arsenal build-up. Still a good 40 minutes left in this, plenty of football to be played.

51º Spurs supporters belting “When the Saints go marching in” at the moment. What it must mean to be a Spurs fan right now. Arsenal have no organization at the moment. Bale tries a speculative effort from 30 yards out, but it flies high into the stands.

49º Robin van Persie now warming up for Arsenal. By the way, that way Bale’s first goal for Spurs in two and a half years. His last goal was against the Gunners as well.

47º GOAL!!! Tottenham 2-0 Arsenal! And Arsenal have gone to sleep! Gareth Bale makes it 2-0! What was Silvestre doing? Dreadful, dreadful defending. The Gunners have it all to do after Bale’s cool finish.

45º David Bentley has been subbed on for Danny Rose. I guess Harry Redknapp wasn’t as impressed with Rose as I was. Then again, Bentley has produced class in this fixture before.

Second Half Kickoff! 45 minutes to go!

Arsenal’s season is now hanging by a thread. You have to wonder what Arsene is saying to his squad in the dressing room. Losing Vermaelen to a calf injury was a huge blow, but Arsenal still have two subs left at their disposal. Theo Walcott and Robin van Persie look like the two most likely substitutes set to come on. On the other hand, Tottenham will want to hold onto their lead, and maybe Crouch should come on for Pavlyuchenko, who hasn’t looked dangerous at all.

Halftime. See you in 15 minutes!

Well Danny Rose is now part of White Hart Lane folklore as his strike has been the difference. And what a strike it was. Spurs fans look delighted, while Arsenal looked unsure as to how they are losing at the moment. That really says it all. You’ll see Danny Rose’s strike for years to come! Still 45 minutes to go, can Spurs snap Arsenal’s 20 league-game unbeaten run against them?

45º Rosicky races down the middle of the park, but gives it away poorly. That being said, Rosicky has been by far Arsenal’s best player. Three minutes of added time to be had.

43º Clichy drives forward and smashes the ball into the side-netting. Hopeful effort that was.

40º Modric sneaks past Clichy and pokes an effort on goal! Almunia dives on top of the effort, 2-0 probably would be too much for Arsenal to recover from given the half we’ve had.

38º Incredible back-and-forth action at the moment. Huddlestone hits it straight at Almunia from an angle from about 9 yards out.

35º Kaboul with a good professional foul. A certain yellow card, but what a run that was from Rosicky. The Czech midfielder looked through!

34º Modric earns a booking as he knocks down Eboue. Arsenal freekick from 40 yards out. The freekick falls to Rosicky, whose shot deflects out for a corner.

32º The game has died down a bit. Not in terms of passion, but in terms of class. Am I the only one who wants to see a RvP/Walcott double substitution?

31º Great idea by Modric, slipping Defoe in brilliantly. The England striker is offside though.

29º A good spell from Arsenal now, but the final ball just isn’t there at the moment.

27º Spurs with all the possession, but Modric wastes the final ball two times in a row. Rosicky then counters, feeding it to Bendtner, but the lanky striker puts it wide with a poor effort.

24º Eboue plays Bendtner in, but the Dane is called offside. The replay shows that it was actually perfectly weighted. Mancini interestingly enough shown wearing a dark blue and white scarf. Is he secretly a Spurs supporter?

21º Sol Campbell looks unsure of himself, some very awkward movements from him. Silvestre has now been subbed on.

19º Thomas Vermaelen going down with what appears to be a calf strain. What is it about Arsenal that causes them to get injured so often? Mikael Silvestre is warming up and looks set to come on.

13º Arsenal got the ball right out of the goal and started playing before Spurs were set. Anyway, Mr. Danny Rose, way to make a name for yourself son! Harry Redknapp now telling his lads to settle the goal down a bit.

10º Goal!!! Tottenham 1-0 Arsenal! I cannot believe this! Did Danny Rose just take Arsenal out of the Premier League title race? An absurd 30 yard left-footed volley from Rose, a stunning volley from the corner. Best goal he’s ever scored. No doubt about that. This kid is already a White Hart Lane hero.

9º 19-year-old Rose lays it for Pavlyuchenko, but it’s deflected. Good defending, but should have been a goal.

7º Amazing atmosphere here at White Hart Lane. And now it’s looking like the up-tempo game we all expect.

5º Denilson taken down cynically by Pavlyuchenko. Looking like the Tottenham that showed up at Wembley at the moment, which is bad news for Spurs.

2º Sol Campbell gets a knee to the ball from the corner, and Gomes is beaten. However, Assou-Ekotto is on the line to chest it down and Gomes collects. Arsenal look up for it, yeah?

1º Arsenal win an early corner as Nasri forces Gareth Bale to knock the ball out.

And we’re off! The 163rd North London Derby!

Roberto Mancini is in the stands tonight. Surely, he’ll be supporting Arsenal tonight. It’s not often you see an Italian supporting a Frenchman, so that’s nice to see I suppose.

Both squads are now shaking hands’ we’re just moments away from what is sure to be a scintillating 90 minutes of Premier League football. Arsenal supporters, Spurs supporters, and neutrals, prepare yourself for a footballing feast!

Early Pre-kickoff Thoughts

Oh I forgot to mention a very important statistic. Tottenham have not won against Arsenal in 20 league games, could that change tonight?

Wenger stays with his 4-3-3 variation, while Harry Redknapp opts for his usual 4-4-2. A surprise to see Pavlyuchenko starting over Peter Crouch, but I suppose the Englishman is tired after playing in the 2-0 loss against Portsmouth on Wednesday. Diaby gets yet another start for Arsenal, despite an atrocious performance a week ago in Barcelona. Robin van Persie starts on the bench, and Bendtner will be the man expected to produce for the young Gunners this match. The Danish striker has been in quite some form recently. This is a must-win game for both sides, as Tottenham could lose out on 4th place with a draw or a loss, and Arsenal can kiss their title hopes goodbye if they fail to secure a win.

Line-Ups

Tottenham: Gomes; Assou-Ekotto, Dawson, King, Bale; Kaboul, Huddlestone, Modric, Rose; Pavlyuchenko, Defoe.
Subs: Alnwick, Bentley, Crouch, Gudjohnsen, Bassong, Kyle Walker, Livermore.

Arsenal: Almunia; Sagna, Campbell, Vermaelen, Clichy; Eboue, Diaby, Denilson; Rosicky, Bendtner, Nasri.
Subs: Fabianski, Eduardo, van Persie, Walcott, Silvestre, Merida, Eastmond.

Referee: Mark Clattenburg (Tyne & Wear)