Arsenal 4-4 Tottenham (2008): How Spurs salvaged last-gasp draw in iconic north London derby

The north London derby between Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur has everything you want in a rivalry.

Rooted into the fabric of their hatred is Arsenal's decision to move from Woolwich to Islington, entering Spurs territory, and the Gunners then taking Tottenham's spot in the Football League.

In the modern day, Arsenal have yielded the most success, but Spurs have always been close enough in the standings for them to remain their number one enemy. The derby is the biggest game of both sides' seasons and that's how it should be.

Back in 2008, Tottenham visited the Emirates Stadium rooted to the foot of the Premier League table. They had just appointed Harry Redknapp as their new manager with no idea what he was about to achieve.

Arsenal, at this point, still had unanimous faith and trust in Arsene Wenger. Sure, the marquee signings had dried up, but he was still one of the finest coaches in Europe and was ushering in a new era at their new ground.

Here's what happened on that fateful night in N5.

Match report

Tottenham scored twice in the final minutes of their north London derby with Arsenal to earn an incredible 4-4 draw at the Emirates Stadium.

The Gunners led for much of the evening despite going a goal down early on and were cruising to victory before blowing a comfortable advantage at the last.

Defensive lapses from both sides allowed the other to wrestle their way back into an entertaining and enthralling encounter.

The first half-chance of the evening fell Tottenham's way with a couple of minutes on the clock. Tom Huddlestone picked out the run of Gareth Bale with a delicate ball over the head of Bacary Sagna, but the Welsh winger could only fire into the side-netting from a tight angle.

Arsenal then went close when Emmanuel Adebayor knocked a low cross from Sagna back to Theo Walcott, whose left-footed strike curled just past the far post.

With 13 minutes gone, Spurs took the lead in show-stopping fashion. Luka Modric hooked a loose ball back up to Jermaine Jenas, who in turn laid it off for David Bentley. 35 yards from goal, the winger took a touch to set himself and then lob goalkeeper Manuel Almunia with a half-volley, silencing the home crowd.

Heurelho Gomes was called into action for the first time when he scampered across his line to push aside a free-kick from Robin van Persie as Arsenal went in search of a leveller.

The Gunners nearly found an equaliser when Gomes dropped a corner and William Gallas was able to reach the bouncing ball, lashing a shot a whisker over the crossbar.

Shortly before the break, Arsenal grabbed the goal they were looking for. An in-swinging corner from Robin van Persie was met by the head of Mikael Silvestre, who ghosted in at the near post to beat Gomes to the ball and level the scores.

Almost immediately from the restart, the hosts went ahead thanks to another set piece. Van Persie was once more the provider, whipping in a wicked cross from midway inside the Tottenham half for Gallas to head past Gomes at the near post.

A mix-up between Jenas and Bentley allowed Van Persie to take possession back and tee up Adebayor, whose first-time strike bounced narrowly wide.

Three further goals were scored between minutes 64 and 68 as an entertaining derby became a back-and-forth one.

Arsenal grabbed the first of these when Van Persie curled a through ball into Samir Nasri and he managed to dink Gomes. Alan Hutton tried to retreat and clear it off the line, but Adebayor arrived at the same time to bundle the ball over the line.

Redknapp responded by throwing on striker Darren Bent, and he scored with one of his first touches. A speculative drive from Huddlestone was fumbled by Almunia, allowing Bent to quickly come in and tuck away the rebound.

The Gunners quickly restored their two-goal cushion soon after kicking off again. Hutton gifted the ball to Adebayor, who squared it to Van Persie to fire home.

Arsenal went close to a fifth when Nasri's cross found Van Persie, but this time the Dutchman was stretching and couldn't keep his effort on target.

Tottenham's miraculous comeback began with a minute of normal time remaining. Gael Clichy - who to this point had been near faultless - slipped on the ball and was stripped of possession by Jenas. The midfielder galloped towards goal and found the net with a curling strike from the edge of the box.

The nervousness inside the Emirates became palpable and the home fans' worst fears were realised when Spurs equalised in the fourth minute of added time. A half-volley from Modric - not too dissimilar to Bentley's to open the scoring - deflected off Silvestre and rattled the post. With Almunia still getting to his feet having tried to stop the Croat's shot, Aaron Lennon ghosted in to sweep home the loose ball and send the remaining scants of travelling fans into delirium.

Arsenal player ratings (4-4-2)

GK: Manuel Almunia - 2/10 - Never got strong hands behind the ball and Tottenham punished this on various occasions.

RB: Bacary Sagna - 5/10 - Fortunate that the space vacated by his marauding runs weren't found by more Spurs passes into Bale.

CB: William Gallas - 6/10 - Solid for the most part, though was unable to pin down Lennon for the crucial goal at the last.

CB: Mikael Silvestre - 7/10 - Similarly fine, easily taking Pavlyuchenko out of the game. Uniquely, both Arsenal centre-backs got on the scoresheet.

LB: Gael Clichy - 6/10 - Flawless for 89 minutes until he slipped and gifted Jenas a route to goal. The midfielder still had a lot of work to do, however.

RM: Theo Walcott - 7/10 - Had great joy running rings around Assou-Ekotto. If anything, Arsenal should have fed him the ball more.

CM: Cesc Fabregas - 6/10 - Ironically kept possession ticking and slowed play down for much of the evening, then decided to try and play more direct in stoppage time when Arsenal only needed to run down the clock.

CM: Denilson - 6/10 - Worked hard to win the ball back and excelled in duels with physical Tottenham counterparts.

LM: Samir Nasri - 6/10 - Played on the periphery until setting up Adebayor for Arsenal's third goal of the evening.

CF: Emmanuel Adebayor - 8/10 - Clambered about the final third with a menace that disturbed Tottenham. Good value for his eventual goal.

CF: Robin van Persie - 9/10 - Sensational. Two assists, one pre-assist, one goal. Perhaps the only criticism of him would be his continual penchant to shift the ball to his stronger left foot rather than entrusting in his weaker but solid right.

Substitutes

SUB: Emmanuel Eboue (75' for Walcott) - 5/10

SUB: Abou Diaby (82' for Van Persie) - 5/10

SUB: Alex Song (88' for Nasri) - N/A

Subs not used: Fabianski (GK), Toure, Vela, Bendtner

Manager

Arsene Wenger - 7/10 - There's a meme that occasionally went around of a mock-up of the Arsenal website and a fake quote from Wenger reading: "You can f**k off if you think that was my fault." That would have been quite apt on this occasion.

Tottenham Hotspur player ratings (4-5-1)

GK: Heurelho Gomes - 2/10 - Bled the confidence of the defenders in front of him dry. A calamity throughout.

RB: Alan Hutton - 2/10 - At fault for three goals, losing the run of Silvestre, failing to clear the ball off the line and then just handing possession back to Arsenal.

CB: Vedran Corluka - 6/10 - Some loose marking here and there but certainly not the reason why Tottenham conceded four.

CB: Jonathan Woodgate - 6/10 - Likewise stubborn with his defending and the scoreline is not a reflection on his efforts.

LB: Benoit Assou-Ekotto - 4/10 - Chewed up and spat out by Walcott. Desperately needed Bale and Lennon's help in order to try and pin the winger down.

RM: David Bentley - 7/10 - The scorer of one of this derby's most iconic goals. Troubled Arsenal with the rare set pieces that Spurs were afforded.

CM: Jermaine Jenas - 7/10 - Pressed relentlessly though was a little sloppy on the ball. Took his goal extremely well.

CM: Luka Modric - 6/10 - Evidently was still getting adjusted to the pace of the English game, enjoying the first half but tiring and becoming less effective an outlet as the game went on.

CM: Tom Huddlestone - 5/10 - Opened up Arsenal only once with his lengthy range of passing. Conceded a rather daft foul leading to Gallas' goal.

LM: Gareth Bale - 5/10 - The Bale of a few years later would have had the confidence to take on Sagna more often.

CF: Roman Pavlyuchenko - 4/10 - Isolated for the most part and was eventually hooked for a livelier striker in Bent.

Substitutes

SUB: Aaron Lennon (55' for Bale) - 8/10 - Shunted to the left where he wasn't too effective until coming inside for the vital equaliser.

SUB: Darren Bent (65' for Pavlyuchenko) - 7/10 - Caused Arsenal far more problems than Pavlyuchenko.

SUB: Chris Gunter (80' for Hutton) - N/A

Subs not used: Cesar (GK), Zokora, O'Hara, Campbell

Manager

Harry Redknapp - 6/10 - As a unit, Tottenham defended relatively well, though were let down by individual errors. Four goals scored flattered them, but they pounced when Arsenal were complacent.

Player of the match - Robin van Persie (Arsenal)

Talking points

What the hell were Arsenal playing at?

Arsenal were better than Tottenham on the day and in pretty much every facet. Yet they still only ended the match with a point and conceded four times to a team bottom of the league.

Not to go all Frank Lampard 'fluke goal, average goal', but it's not as if the Gunners were carved apart again and again. That said, Spurs did well to pounce on the creeping anxiety inside the Emirates.

Wenger's men were sometimes harshly criticised during this era for showing a soft underbelly, but those judgements were valid here.

They had one of the Premier League's worst starting goalkeepers in Almunia and a lack of trust in him permeated through the defence. In midfield, Fabregas did not control the game as he needed to, while Nasri was a bit-part player on this night and had little interest in getting too involved. When all they had to do was keep the ball, the Gunners lost their heads and sped through the gears for little gain.

Arsenal scored four and still led by two heading into the final minutes, but there was this unshakeable feeling they should have pummelled Spurs when afforded the chance to that isn't just recency bias. The visitors did not come to play but had scored twice even before the mental finish.

Ultimately, this match was more about Arsenal blowing it than Tottenham earning it.

Tottenham's remarkable comeback

Harry Redknapp's Tottenham reign would be characterised by attacking brilliance and exciting football.

His first big task after beating Bolton Wanderers in his opening match was simply not to get dismantled by a formidable Arsenal side in the biggest game of Spurs' season.

Tottenham lined up with four orthodox defenders and a five-man midfield, with Roman Pavlyuchenko and then Darren Bent often left alone up top.

Watching this back in an era where expected goals rules decision-making when it comes to shots, it's a hard watch seeing Spurs just let fly whenever they got near the final third, but it worked well for them. Almunia was a weak point and they took advantage of this time after time.

Best players on the day

• Robin van Persie was a man possessed. Had he managed to stay free from injury during his developing and peak years at Arsenal, he probably could have won a title at the Emirates Stadium.

• No matter which side of north London he was representing, Emmanuel Adebayor always found joy in the derby.

• A 19-year-old Theo Walcott had great joy running at Tottenham. Newly-appointed England boss Fabio Capello was watching from the stands and would infamously leave the winger out of his 2010 FIFA World Cup squad to much scrutiny.

Iconic quotes

• Arsene Wenger: "We were absolutely, certainly a level above Tottenham today."

• Harry Redknapp: "We worked all day yesterday defending set plays, corners [but conceded twice from set pieces]."

• Arsene Wenger: "Unfortunately we were not rewarded because we lack maturity and instead of being efficient we became a little too negative in the last 10 minutes. The potential is outstanding in the side but the result is down to inexperience."

Forgotten tidbits

• Cesc Fabregas and Luka Modric would face off as El Clasico rivals later in their esteemed careers. Surprisingly, neither played particularly well in this game.

• At the time of this match, the only Tottenham manager to have beaten Arsene Wenger in the Premier League was Arsenal legend George Graham.

• Tottenham substitute Chris Gunter had a lodger at the time - Arsenal midfielder and Wales teammate Aaron Ramsey.

• Gareth Bale was midway through a run of 25 Premier League games without playing in a win for Tottenham. This streak would come to an end when he came off the bench in a 5-0 victory against Burnley in September 2009.

What happened next?

• Arsenal finished fourth in the Premier League and notably reached the semi-finals of the Champions League, where poor defending and goalkeeping cost them European glory.

• Tottenham would easily fend off the immediate threat of relegation with an eighth-placed finish. Without Europe to contend with in 2009/10, they would then qualify for the Champions League for the first time.

• Harry Redknapp's unbeaten start continued for four more matches in which they defeated Liverpool twice - once in the Premier League with a last-minute winner, and then again in the League Cup.

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