1-2 v Arsenal FC - 22 December 2007 - Away

Tottenham Hotspur Badge

Spurs 1

Arsenal FC

Arsenal FC

2

Details
Match Number

6669

Opposition
Arsenal

Arsenal FC

Competition
Premier League

Premier League

Season

2007/08

Date

22nd December 2007

Kick Off

12:45

Venue

Emirates Stadium

Attendance

60,087

Referee

Rob Styles

League Position

13th

Opposition League Position

1st

Opposition Form

WWWDDW

Weather at Kick Off

4.4° - Overcast

Facts & Milestones
  • 6634th overall match (3142 wins, 1455 draws, 2024 losses)

  • 5111th competitive match (2271 wins, 1199 draws, 1641 losses)

  • team

    254th match vs Arsenal FC (91 wins, 59 draws, 104 losses)

  • competition

    600th Premier League match (216 wins, 158 draws, 226 losses)

  • 6102nd match in England (2839 wins, 1372 draws, 1878 losses)

  • 3rd match at Emirates Stadium (0 wins, 0 draws, 3 losses)

  • 23rd consecutive match with a goal scored

Report

Nicklas Bendtner headed the winner seconds after coming on as substitute to keep Arsenal top of the Premier League with a win against Tottenham.

Emmanuel Adebayor put Arsenal ahead after 48 minutes in the north London derby from a Cesc Fabregas back-heel.

Dimitar Berbatov powered home in the 66th minute, then Robbie Keane's penalty was saved by Manuel Almunia after Kolo Toure fouled the Bulgarian.

Substitute Bendtner strode on after 76 minutes and turned in Fabregas' corner.

It was a goal that left Spurs without a victory against their arch-rivals in eight years.

Tottenham boss Juande Ramos sprang a surprise by giving a first start to Jamie O'Hara - and the 21-year-old distinguished himself in a dreadful first half.

Mathieu Flamini hooked wide early on but the visitors were well-disciplined and never allowed Arsenal into their normally smooth stride.

Spurs keeper Paul Robinson saved well from Emmanuel Eboue's shot and Toure's header but there was little sign of the defensive frailties that have plagued Tottenham's season.

The game burst into life three minutes after the re-start when a brilliant flick from Fabregas sent in Adebayor, who slid a composed finish past Robinson.

But Spurs were well in contention and Keane should have equalised after 65 minutes, only to lash a volley against the bar from eight yards when Aaron Lennon's cross found him unmarked at the far post.

Spurs, however, only had to wait a matter of seconds for the equaliser.

Keane produced a neat flick near the byeline and the lurking Berbatov smashed high past Almunia at his near post.

Spurs then wasted a golden opportunity to set the platform for victory after 71 minutes.

Referee Rob Styles rightly pointed to the spot when Toure upended Berbatov but Keane's penalty was too casual and too central, allowing Almunia to dive to his right to save.

And punishment was instant and painful for Tottenham as Arsenal went ahead in remarkable circumstances.

Both managers made changes, with Jermain Defoe replacing the dejected Keane and Bendtner replacing Eboue.

Bendtner had not touched the ball when he made his way into the Tottenham penalty area and rose to power Fabregas' corner past Robinson, once again proving Gunners' boss Wenger has the Midas touch against Spurs.

Location
League Table
# Team PL W D L GF GA GD PTS
1
Arsenal
17 12 4 1 34 14 20 40
2
Manchester united
17 12 3 2 30 8 22 39
3
Chelsea
17 10 4 3 24 10 14 34
4
Manchester city
17 10 3 4 24 19 5 33
5
Liverpool
16 8 6 2 27 10 17 30
6
Everton
17 9 3 5 31 16 15 30
7
Portsmouth
17 8 6 3 28 15 13 30
8
Aston villa
17 8 4 5 28 20 8 28
9
Blackburn rovers
17 7 5 5 23 24 -1 26
10
Newcastle united
17 7 4 6 24 26 -2 25
11
West ham united
16 6 4 6 20 14 6 22
12
Tottenham Hotspur Badge Tottenham Hotspur
17 4 6 7 29 29 0 18
13
Reading
17 5 3 9 22 34 -12 18
14
Middlesbrough
17 4 5 8 16 28 -12 17
15
Birmingham city
17 4 3 10 18 27 -9 15
16
Bolton wanderers
17 3 5 9 18 27 -9 14
17
Sunderland
17 3 5 9 16 32 -16 14
18
Fulham
17 2 7 8 18 28 -10 13
19
Wigan athletic
17 3 3 11 17 33 -16 12
20
Derby county
17 1 3 13 6 39 -33 6
# Team PL W D L GF GA GD PTS
1
Arsenal
18 13 4 1 36 15 21 43
2
Manchester united
18 13 3 2 32 9 23 42
3
Chelsea
18 11 4 3 25 10 15 37
4
Manchester city
18 10 4 4 25 20 5 34
5
Liverpool
17 9 6 2 31 11 20 33
6
Everton
18 9 3 6 32 18 14 30
7
Portsmouth
18 8 6 4 29 19 10 30
8
Aston villa
18 8 5 5 29 21 8 29
9
Newcastle united
18 7 5 6 26 28 -2 26
10
Blackburn rovers
18 7 5 6 23 25 -2 26
11
West ham united
17 7 4 6 22 15 7 25
12
Reading
18 6 3 9 24 35 -11 21
13
Tottenham Hotspur Badge Tottenham Hotspur
18 4 6 8 30 31 -1 18
14
Bolton wanderers
18 4 5 9 21 27 -6 17
15
Middlesbrough
18 4 5 9 17 30 -13 17
16
Birmingham city
18 4 3 11 18 30 -12 15
17
Fulham
18 2 8 8 19 29 -10 14
18
Sunderland
18 3 5 10 17 34 -17 14
19
Wigan athletic
18 3 4 11 18 34 -16 13
20
Derby county
18 1 4 13 8 41 -33 7
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