Chelsea and Tottenham played out an entertaining game to share the points on a night when the Champions League picture for the upcoming season could have been decided. In what was a thoroughly enjoyable spectacle with barely a dull moment, Spurs did well to come from behind twice to earn a 2-2 draw.

Chelsea took the lead as early the tenth minute with a point blank header from Oscar from a Gary Cahill knockdown from a Chelsea corner. Tottenham equalised 16 minutes later with a sublime goal from Emmanuel Adebayor. Minutes before the half time, following some impressive ball control by Torres, Ramires prodded the ball into the corner of the net after a brilliant run.

Tottenham Hotspur gave their Champions League aspirations a massive boost with an excellent come from behind victory against Manchester City at White Hart Lane. Samir Nasri had put City in front in the 5th minute, and the Citizens looked rather comfortable in the lead for the next 70, but three goals in 7 minutes from Clint Dempsey, Jermain Defoe and Gareth Bale gave Spurs a much needed 3-1 win. The result not only puts Tottenham right back in contention for a Champions League place, but also means that City will lose the League title on Monday night should Manchester United win at home against Aston Villa.

Spurs were boosted by the return of Gareth Bale, who was thrust straight back into the starting eleven after recovering from his ankle injury, while Jermain Defoe also returned to the squad after a month, but was relegated to a place on the bench as Emmanuel Adebayor lined up against his former club. Clint Dempsey got the nod to start behind Adebayor, but Aaron Lennon failed to recover from his hamstring injury in time for this crucial game.

In a shocking rumour, The Daily Mirror reports that English champions Manchester City are lining up a far-fetched move for Arsenal fullback Carl Jenkinson. Jenkinson, 20, recently signed a long term contract with the Gunners and has come a long way signing for them from Charlton Athletic last year. He has been making rapid strides since by deputizing more than capably for the injury stricken first choice right back Bacary Sagna in some crunch games for the North London side.

It is believed that City have been keeping an eye on the England international who had earned his first cap under Roy Hodgson over the course of this season. City have previously had the knack of prizing away talent from the Gunners and secured the services of several gifted Gunners’ stars including the likes of Samir Nasri, Gael Clichy, Kolo Toure and Emmanuel Adebayor but this move seems highly improbable even for the cash rich Manchester City. Jenkinson is known to be a long term Arsenal fan and had been waiting for quite some time before making his dream move to Arsenal.

Tottenham Hotspur striker Emmanuel Adebayor is most likely to refuse playing in the African Cup of Nations next month following the “squad-list” debacle between the Togolese FA and the coach of the Togo national team Didier Six, reports L’Equipe.

Adebayor has publicly apologised to his Tottenham teammates for his challenge on Santi Cazorla that resulted in his sending off during the North London derby at the Emirates. The Togolese striker seemed to have had a moment of madness as he lunged into the Spaniard with studs showing just minutes after opening the scoring against Arsenal.

In a statement released to the Sun, he said, “I completely understand my sending off changed the entire outcome of the game and I whole-heartedly apologise to my team-mates, the manager and all the Tottenham fans for letting them down,"

Arsenal picked up a crucial win in the first North London derby of the season, beating Tottenham 5-2 at the Emirates for the second year running. Emmanuel Adebayor had given Spurs the early lead, but his poor challenge on Santi Cazorla in the 17th minute reduced Tottenham to 10-men, and another clinical Arsenal performance in front of goal meant that they picked up a comfortable enough win, despite rarely stepping out of third gear for the better part of the second half. (Read the Full Match Report)

Here's how the individual players performed on the day...

The 169th North London derby had an identical scoreline to the one that preceeded it as Arsenal saw off the challenge off a battling Tottenham side 5-2, having benefitted greatly from being a man-up for the bulk of the contest. Emmannuel Adebayor scored the opening goal of the game in the 10th minute, but soon turned from hero to villain when he received his marching orders 7 minutes later for a reckless challenge on Santi Cazorla. Arsenal turned the game around by half-time, with goals from Per Mertesacker, Lukas Podolski and Olivier Giroud putting them 3-1 ahead. Tottenham's 10-men came out charged up after the break, and bossed possession for large periods, but it was Arsenal who put the game to bed through the excellent Santi Cazorla on the hour mark. Gareth Bale pulled one back for Spurs to keep things interesting, but Arsenal held on for the win, and even added a 5th late on with Theo Walcott getting on the scoresheet.

It was hardly a typical Arsenal performance, and not necessarily one from which they will draw a lot of confidence, but the good news for the Gunners is that their new approach of getting the ball into wide areas, and crossing early is seeing them create more chances than in recent weeks, and their accuracy in front of goal has also improved tremendously. Spurs will be disappointed with the outcome, and showed plenty of heart and character after going a man down, and it was Adebayor and not Andre Villas-Boas who lost this one for Spurs.