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At the best of times, the North London derby represents one of the most primal rivalries in England. But tonight's game at White Hart Lane took on extra significance as a win for Tottenham Hotspur would have seen them draw level on points with Manchester City in the battle for Champions League places while an Arsenal victory would see them close the gap on Manchester United at the top to just four points. The game began in scintillating fashion as Theo Walcott and Samir Nasri scored on either side of Rafael Van der Vaart's goal and all this within the first 12 minutes!

Robin van Persie made it 3-1 in the 40th minute but Spurs soon hit back through Tom Huddlestone. Spurs made it 3-3 in the 70th minute as Van der Vaart converted a penalty after Aaron Lennon was brought down by Wojciech Szczesny. Both teams had chances to win it at the end, perhaps Spurs a bit more than Arsenal. However, the game managed to perhaps deservedly end in a draw, which really does neither side any good, but on the whole this was a wonderful advert for the game of football.

Harry Redknapp made the bold decision of playing a 4-4-2 with Roman Pavlyuchenko and Peter Crouch leading the line. Recently crowned PFA Player of the Year Gareth Bale and Rafael Van der Vaart started down the wide positions while Tom Huddlestone and Luka Modric formed the central midfield pairing. Former Arsenal captain, William Gallas, started in the heart of defence alongside Michael Dawson with Benoit Assou-Ekotto and Vedran Corluka the starting full backs.

Arsene Wenger put out his strongest possible side in an attempt to close the gap on Manchester United at the top. PFA Young Player of the Year Jack Wilshere was dropped to the bench as Abou Diaby, Alex Song and Cesc Fabregas formed a three-man midfield. Theo Walcott and Samir Nasri started down the wings as Robin van Persie was the lone striker in Arsenal's patented 4-2-3-1 formation. At the back, Johan Djourou and Laurent Koscielny started in central defence while Bacary Sagna and Gael Clichy were entrusted with stopping Spurs' wide players.

It was a typically swift start to the game as Spurs got into the action from the get go. First Corluka tested the backline with a teasing cross before Modric struck an early shot from distance. But the telling blow came at the other end with just four minutes on the clock as Walcott beat the offside trap to run onto Fabregas' through ball and beat Heurelho Gomes with a confident finish. Walcott found similar space just a few minutes earlier but Gallas & Co. covered their lines well on that occasion. But there was no stopping the little winger this time around as he left the defenders for dead to put Arsenal 1-0 up.

The lead didn't last long though as Spurs hit back almost immediately through Van der Vaart, who collected Corluka's cross before beating Wojciech Szczesny at the near post with a wonderful right footed strike. It was an explosive start to the game as both sets of players had no time to catch their breath. Nasri then displayed his array of tricks to beat Corluka and release Van Persie down the left channel. The Dutchman forced Gomes into a fine save, but Arsenal weren't going to be denied as Nasri helped Arsenal regain the lead soon.

Following a resilient run through the middle, Nasri exchanged a neat one-two with Diaby before beating Gomes with a well placed strike from just outside the box which looked to have taken a slight deflection off Dawson. It took the game almost twenty minutes to achieve a sense of equanimity as Arsenal began to settled down following their 2nd goal with the pace of Walcott troubling the Spurs backline a great deal. Spurs were looking for that big diagonal from the left side at every given opportunity as they aimed to get some purchase by placing Crouch against Clichy in those situations. At the other end, true to the script so far, Walcott came within inches of extending Arsenal's lead as he tore down the right channel, but his effort crawled past the far post. Spurs responded by going close themselves as Modric drew a regulation save out of Szczesny.

With half time fast approaching Arsenal struck another blow as Van Persie turned the ball into the back of the net on his second attempt after Gomes denied his initial header with a stunning save. Amazingly the home side refused to lie down as they reduced the deficit just minutes later thanks to a sweet left-footed strike from distance by Huddlestone after Arsenal failed to clear their lines. The exhilarating half finally came to an end at 2-3 with both sides having everything to play for in the 2nd half.

As expected, Redknapp made changes at the start of the 2nd half as Aaron Lennon came on for the injured Bale while Younes Kaboul, who scored the winner against Arsenal at the Emirates, replaced Corluka. Wenger responded by bringing Wilshere on for Diaby as the half began with tackles flying in from all corners. The first real chance fell to Van der Vaart as he forced Szczesny into a diving save with an effort from 20 yards out. The manic end to end action of the first half gave way to a more patient build up from both sides with Spurs having more possession which Arsenal tried to play on the counter. One such attack saw Huerelho Gomes drop a Robin van Persie effort into the back of the net, but the goal was bizarrely ruled out for offside, with the Dutch striker appearing to be very much behind play. It was to be a vital moment in the game as soon after Spurs levelled proceedings with twenty minutes to go as Van der Vaart scored from the penalty spot after Szczesny brought down the marauding Lennon with a naïve challenge.

With Wenger still berating the 4th assistant over the penalty, Szczesny denied Modric with a desperate save with his feet. Fabregas then tested Gomes before Szczesny proved to be the hero once again as his fingertips kept out Crouch's header. Wenger brought on Nicklas Bendtner and Andrey Arshavin for the last ten minutes but it was Spurs who continued to dominate as substitute Sandro struck an effort straight at Gomes. The Gunners huffed and puffed in the dying minutes of the game to find that elusive winner but it never arrived as a fuming Wenger disappeared into the tunnel barely shaking Redknapp's hand as Martin Atkinson blew for full time.

As with most North London derby's in recent years, this game didn't disappoint as both sides went all out for the three points. Their fortunes swung wildly over the course of the 90 minutes but in the larger picture, the pendulum has swung hugely in favour of Manchester United. The Gunners are six points behind the leaders at the moment and have now lost 2nd place to Chelsea on goal difference after the Blues won 3-1 against Birmingham City in the other game of the day. Spurs didn't draw level with City, but with the difference between the two sides just two points Spurs will be aware that victory at Eastlands later this season will ensure Champions League football for next season. The game might have been flawed on several levels but there can be no complaints about the sheer entertainment value of it.

Teams:

Tottenham: Gomes, Corluka (Kaboul 46'), Gallas, Dawson, Assou-Ekotto, Huddlestone, Modric, Bale (Lennon 46'), Van der Vaart, Pavlyuchenko (Sandro 78'), Crouch.

Arsenal: Szczesny, Sagna, Djourou, Koscielny, Clichy, Song, Walcott (Bendtner 82'), Fabregas, Diaby (Wilshere 52'), Nasri (Arshavin 82'), Van Persie.

Final Score: Tottenham 3–3 Arsenal

Goals: Walcott 5', Van der Vaart 7', 70' (Pen), Nasri 12', Van Persie 40', Huddlestone 44'

Also Read: Chelsea clinch 2nd spot in table

File Photograph Copyright: DSanchez