Arsenal may not have learned much more about their title aspirations at the Emirates yesterday, but they did establish that they are not competing for the same rewards as Tottenham Hotspur.

Harry Redknapp, for one, would consider it harsh to judge a team on 11 seconds of play but when Spurs conceded two goals in that time just before the interval, all Tottenham's old failings seemed to be revealed.

Redknapp disagreed. "There is no gap between the two clubs," he insisted. "We made two mistakes and that changed everything."

Redknapp had been enjoying his afternoon for 42 minutes. "I thought they were edgy, the crowd was moaning at every mistake, then the goals change everything. Before that, two or three of their players were scared to make a pass and then they walk in at half-time like they've played the half of their lives while our heads are on the floor."

But the mistakes may be symptomatic of a greater ailment; once they occurred they seemed to confirm what Tottenham feel about themselves. When Spurs failed to mark from a throw-in, Bacary Sagna put in a cross which allowed Robin van Persie to give Arsenal the lead. Straight from kick-off, Spurs imploded when Wilson Palacios lazily kicked the ball against Van Persie, Cesc Fabregas picked it up and ran from the centre circle to score.

Just 11 seconds had changed the game.

Even Arsene Wenger agreed with Redknapp in some respects, saying his team had played "with a handbrake", but he saw that as an opportunity to praise his defence, with William Gallas outstanding.

Tottenham will highlight the absence of Jermain Defoe, Aaron Lennon and Luka Modric, but Robbie Keane's claims that Spurs had a better squad than Arsenal didn't take into account that many of these squad players cannot be relied upon on days like these.

The second half was an embarrassment for Spurs as only Crouch and Keane, before he was substituted, fought with the necessary passion to get Tottenham back into the game, while his replacement, Roman Pavlyuchenko, only needed a cameo to establish that he was the game's worst player, wrestling the award from the ludicrous David Bentley.

Bentley was eager to make an impression, which was his first mistake. Having scored spectacularly in the same fixture last season, he tried the same trick early on but sliced wide with his left foot. Redknapp might have seen edginess in the Arsenal team but his side weren't taking any risks either. With Keane playing wide on the left, they weren't planning on taking any chances in a turgid first half. Only once did Keane link with Crouch but Alexander Song got back to make the recovering tackle.

They were always eager to self-destruct, though, and Arsenal's chances came through the mistakes of Tottenham. Heurelho Gomes had saved brilliantly from Fabregas after Jermaine Jenas had given the ball away, then Benoit Assou-Ekotto drove the ball straight to Fabregas on the edge of the Tottenham penalty area. He fed Van Persie but his shot went into the side-netting.

After his save, Gomes acknowledged the cheers of the Spurs fans who were chanting his name. By half-time, the chants had faded away. Three minutes from the end of the half, Spurs were punished. Sagna took a throw and was allowed to receive a return pass from Fabregas. He swept in a cross that Van Persie touched towards goal from six yards. Gomes should have held it, but instead the ball crawled over the line.

The second was, in Redknapp's words, "horrendous". Palacios dithered in possession as his team-mates looked reluctant to take the ball. Arsenal pounced. Fabregas, Arsenal's slowest player, evaded Palacios, then skipped past Ledley King before bearing down on goal. Vedran Corluka couldn't get back and the captain's finish took care of things.

Spurs spent the second half looking for Crouch, who continued to battle manfully against overwhelming odds and the lack of interest of some. Eduardo had come on when Nicklas Bendtner hobbled off with a groin injury and he should have ensured Spurs were humiliated. He missed a number of chances, the best when he was lucky not to have been flagged offside but, one-on-one with Gomes, he put the ball wide.

It fell to Van Persie to do that, but Spurs ensured there was an element of farce. When Assou-Ekotto clattered into Eduardo on the left wing, the linesman flagged for a free. The ball had run to Sagna but he, along with the Spurs defenders, stopped for a free-kick only to see that the referee Mark Clattenburg had played an advantage.

As with the first goal, Spurs had ignored football's first principles. Sagna took the advantage, crossed and again Gomes made a mess of it and again Van Persie scored. The day was over, but it had ended in 11 seconds for Tottenham.

Arsenal are beginning to look like a team that can fulfil Wenger's boundless expectations, but they have been in stronger positions than this in the autumn and have wilted over the testing winter.

For now, they are advancing. When Wenger arrived for his post-match press conference, the Arsenal steward heralded his arrival with a bellowed "Arsene Wenger!". "It's like the old days of the kingdom," Wenger laughed, as he acknowledged his introduction with a regal wave. Arsenal now have plans for imperialist expansion.

- Dion Fanning

Sunday Independent