Arsenal 2 - 1 Spurs

Manuel Almunia’s huge save from a Robbie Keane penalty midway through the second half proved the turning point in a highly entertaining North London derby this morning.

After a tight, but goalless first half, Arsenal came out with great intensity in the second half. The intensity paid off when Cesc Fabregas’ slick back heel enabled Emmanuel Adebayor to maintain his amazing scoring record against Spurs. He now has six goals in six games against Tottenham.

It seemed that after the goal, Arsenal took their collective foot off the gas, and slowly but surely, Spurs re-gained their footing. Spurs’ hard work paid off, after just moments earlier having seen Robbie Keane’s effort clang off the cross-bar, Dimitar Berbatov smashed a loose ball into the roof of the net from only four yards out to put the score at 1-1 just before the midway point of the half.

It was a few minutes later that Spurs were awarded a penalty when Kolo Toure was adjudged to have taken Berbatov down the box. Robbie Keane stepped up to take the spot kick, and Almunia underscored why he’s firmly Arsenal’s #1 with an excellent save.

After the save, Arsene Wenger made his first substitution, sending Nick Bendtner on in the place of Emmanuel Eboue. It proved a master stroke, as within moments, Bendtner headed in what proved to be the winning goal.

An immensely satisfying win, and now on to Boxing Day, and a trip to Pompey. Kickoff is 2:30 PM ET, and the match will be shown live on Fox Soccer Channel here in the US.