Aaron Lennon's injury-time equaliser capped a stunning fightback from Harry Redknapp's Tottenham against Arsenal.

David Bentley's brilliant early strike put Spurs ahead, but Mikael Silvestre headed Arsenal level before half-time.

William Gallas put Arsenal in front seconds after the re-start and Emmanuel Adebayor bundled home their third.

Darren Bent pulled one back before Robin van Persie added Arsenal's fourth - but Jermaine Jenas's 89th-minute goal and Lennon's tap-in earned a point.

Bentley's audacious opener gave Redknapp the perfect start to his first official game in charge, but that early optimism soon disappeared as Arsenal took total control of the north London derby.

But once again Arsenal were guilty of their familiar crime of over-elaboration and missing chances, leaving the door open for Spurs to rescue a point from a game that looked lost.

Redknapp restored Jonathan Woodgate to his starting line-up, but lost captain Ledley King because of his long-standing knee injury.

Spurs opened up Arsenal inside two minutes when Tom Huddlestone slid in Gareth Bale, who shot into the side-netting.

But they were ahead after 13 minutes - and it was a piece of genius by former Arsenal midfield man Bentley that gave them the goal.

He took a Huddlestone header and teed himself up for a stunning volley from 40 yards that Arsenal keeper Manuel Almunia touched but could not keep out.

Arsenal took up the challenge and Van Persie was twice a threat in the immediate aftermath of Bentley's goal, forcing Heurelho Gomes into a save low down and then shooting just wide.

Gallas then shot over after a Gomes fumble before both Theo Walcott and Cesc Fabregas tested the Spurs keeper.

An Arsenal equaliser looked on the cards, but Spurs will have been deeply unhappy about the manner in which it arrived eight minutes before the interval.

Spurs felt Bentley had been fouled by Fabregas in the lead up to an Arsenal corner, and their misery increased when Gomes made an awful attempt to deal with Van Persie's corner and Silvestre headed home.

For all Arsenal's trademark pretty passing, they were making inroads at set pieces and scored from another less than a minute after the re-start.

Van Persie whipped in a free-kick from the right and Gallas rose to glance in a header that Gomes could only touch on its way in.

Bentley tested Almunia from long range again before Adebayor extended Arsenal's lead after 64 minutes.

Van Persie was the creator with a superb pass that let in Samir Nasri, and when he lifted the ball over Gomes, Adebayor beat Alan Hutton in a straight race to poke home from almost on the goal-line.

It was looking very ominous for a deflated Spurs side, but they were thrown a lifeline three minutes later when Almunia fumbled Huddlestone's shot and substitute Bent turned in the rebound.

But any hopes Spurs harboured of a revival appeared to be snuffed out within two minutes, when Hutton gifted possession to Adebayor, who set up Van Persie for a powerhouse finish.

When Jenas curled in a clever finish with a minute of normal time remaining, it looked like it would provide nothing more than an anxious finale for the Gunners.

But with seconds left of the four minutes of injury time, Luka Modric's shot was deflected on to an upright and substitute Lennon was in the perfect position to slot in the rebound and spark wild scenes of celebration from the Spurs contingent.

Arsenal: Almunia, Sagna, Silvestre, Gallas, Clichy, Walcott (Eboue 75), Fabregas, Denilson, Nasri (Song Billong 88), Van Persie (Diaby 81), Adebayor.

Subs Not Used: Fabianski, Toure, Vela, Bendtner.

Booked: Diaby.

Goals: Silvestre 37, Gallas 46, Adebayor 64, Van Persie 68.

Tottenham: Gomes, Hutton (Gunter 79), Corluka, Woodgate, Assou-Ekotto, Bentley, Modric, Jenas, Huddlestone, Bale (Lennon 55), Pavlyuchenko (Bent 65).

Subs Not Used: Cesar, Zokora, Campbell, O'Hara.

Booked: Assou-Ekotto, Bentley, Huddlestone, Jenas.

Goals: Bentley 13, Bent 67, Jenas 89, Lennon 90.

Att: 60,043

Ref: Martin Atkinson (W Yorkshire).

www.bbc.co.uk

Robin van Persie believes Arsenal’s “massive win” at Upton Park on Sunday shows they can be real title contenders.

Arsène Wenger’s side sealed victory at West Ham thanks to Julien Faubert’s own goal and an injury-time strike from Emmanuel Adebayor.

The visitors deserved their win but, for the first hour, the game was in the balance. Along with Theo Walcott, Van Persie perhaps did the most to break the deadlock, hitting the post and forcing one of a number of fine saves from Robert Green.

Afterwards, the Dutchman felt his side had shown the resilience of title-chasers.

“I think so, yes, because we scored a goal after more than 70 minutes and it was a tough game,” said the 25-year-old.

“They had their chances in the first half with Bellamy and a few others. But if you win this game 2-0 at the end, it is a great job and a massive win.”

Indeed, it was a massive weekend in the Premier League with last season’s top two both dropping points.

"At half time we found out Chelsea lost 1-0 and, of course Man United had drawn, so we knew it was really important to get back and make some steps up the table," said Van Persie.

“It was not easy. West Ham played very well, especially in the first half an hour.

“But we knew somehow we would get chances in the second half because they gave everything in the first.

“That is what we said to each other at half-time. We would get chances. The only thing was to make them and just keep the belief high. This is what we did.

"In the end I think it was a big, big win for us.”

www.arsenal.com

A late Emmanuel Adebayor strike and a Julien Faubert own goal at Upton Park inflicted a third successive Premier League defeat on West Ham.

Theo Walcott and Robin van Persie both hit the post before substitute Adebayor's scuffed shot was directed beyond Robert Green via Faubert.

In injury time, Adebayor ran from the centre circle to finish a delightful Nicklas Bendtner cross-field pass.

West Ham striker Carlton Cole was then sent off for a foul on Alex Song.

It was a pulsating end to a match which seemed to be heading towards a goalless draw, with West Ham's defence and the impressive Green frustrating the visitors.

It was the introduction of the direct running of Adebayor in the 65th minute which changed the game and ensured the Gunners, now four points behind league leaders Liverpool, remain in title contention.

The match burst into life with a coruscating Walcott run in the 20th minute.

The England forward set off near the half-way line and beat two defenders only for the crossbar to thwart what would have been a magnificent goal, although some would argue he should have passed to his team-mates waiting in the box.

Walcott had another chance five minutes later when a delightful Cesc Fabregas chip found Van Persie, who put Walcott through only for the teenager to be denied by Green's instinctive save.

But the best chance of the half arguably fell to West Ham striker Craig Bellamy who would have scored with a low strike into the corner had it not been for Manuel Almunia's protruding left foot.

Arsenal were susceptible to the West Ham counter-attack, with Bellamy's pace in particular posing problems, but it was the Gunners who were the more threatening.

In the second half, Van Persie's 25-yard strike tested Green and the striker rattled the post with a venomous free-kick before Faubert's error gave Arsenal the advantage.

Adebayor got the goal his cameo deserved when the visitors broke free with Bendtner putting his strike-partner through with a pass from deep inside his own half.

West Ham's woe was then compounded when striker Cole was harshly shown a straight red in the dying seconds for a sliding tackle on Song.

West Ham: Green, Faubert, Collins, Upson, Ilunga, Mullins, Parker (Boa Morte 77), Bowyer (Sears 89), Di Michele (Etherington 78), Bellamy, Cole.

Subs not used: Lastuvka, Lopez, Davenport, Collison.

Sent off: Cole (90).

Booked: Parker, Faubert.

Arsenal: Almunia, Eboue, Gallas, Silvestre, Clichy, Walcott (Adebayor 67), Fabregas, Song Billong, Nasri (Diaby 68), Bendtner, Van Persie (Sagna 90).

Subs not used: Fabianski, Toure, Ramsey, Djourou.

Booked: Fabregas, Clichy, Song Billong.

Goals: Faubert 75 og, Adebayor 90.

Att.: 34,802

Ref.: Phil Dowd (Staffordshire).

www.bbc.co.uk

It was a sight to set the heart of any football lover beating fast and to send Arsene Wenger's pulse racing off the scale.

His precious striking talent, Robin van Persie, was launching himself into a kickabout with a group of north London kids, hurtling into tackles as well as parading his dribbling, passing and shooting gifts.

This was not some high-stakes final at Wembley. This was Elthorne Park in Islington, a strip of inner-city land reclaimed from drug-users, alcoholics and vandals, and converted into a field of dreams for youngsters who could not believe their luck at Van Persie joining in.

Such pitches remind the Dutchman of his youth, of the "cage'' near his Rotterdam home where he developed his skills. An adult with a schoolboy's smile, Van Persie eventually broke away from the game and ran across to the watching Johan Cruyff and Dennis Bergkamp, the pitch's patrons.

Money from Bergkamp's Arsenal testimonial has been channelled through the Cruyff Foundation and Arsenal's community department to help build the first "Cruyff Court'' in the UK following the success of 80 similar cages in Holland. Surrounded by tough fences, a strong artificial surface was given the seal of approval by Van Persie on Thursday.

The three Dutchmen, elegant symbols of their nation's commitment to sublime technical football, then found a quiet corner to talk about street football, Total Football, Diego Maradona, Lionel Messi, Wayne Rooney, Steven Gerrard, the physicality of the Premier League, even the role of art in sport.

Cruyff, still lean, still charismatic, was initially the master of the conversation, his younger compatriots listening respectfully to the three-time European Footballer of the Year. But being Dutch, Bergkamp and Van Persie were not short of opinions themselves. Bergkamp exuded intelligence and an awareness of football as a power for social good. Van Persie still inhabits the bubble of professional football but understood with a passion the importance of the Cruyff Court.

"When I see a ball, I want to play – with kids, whoever,'' Van Persie explained of his energetic debut in the cage. "Unfortunately, I can't really play on the street any more because I play professionally. When you get older, you get more money, but in my heart, it's still the same. I love football.

"I learnt on the streets. Since the age of five, I practised all day on a pitch like this five minutes from my house. Look at my left foot. It is so good because I practised so many hours in the cage. When I was eight, one guy told me: 'Your shot is rubbish.' 'I know,' I replied. Two months later he came back and said: 'Man, your shot is amazing.' 'I know because I have been here every single day from nine until the evening, practising.''

Van Persie used the "cage'' because the streets, the Tarmac alma maters of Cruyff and Bergkamp, acquired too many perils. Cruyff became determined to tackle the curse of "overweight people and criminality'', and began pouring his energies and money into these courts via his wonderful foundation. "It looks a cage but the parents know they are safe,'' Cruyff remarked. "They know they get coaching from Arsenal. Once a month Robin comes to play here. It's fantastic.''

Bergkamp nodded, adding that "the cage is the new street'', and agreeing with Cruyff's belief that "the average technique has dipped''. "I really feel so,'' Bergkamp said. "We played on stones. If you fell down, you hurt yourself, so you get your balance right. The first touch has to be right otherwise the ball bounces away.''

Instincts sharpened, Bergkamp was such a prodigy that "we had to adjust our training to Dennis' school times'', reflected his first coach at Ajax.

"The street taught us,'' Cruyff added. "Messi grew up like this.'' Barcelona's clever little Argentine also drew an appreciative comment from Bergkamp. "Messi taught himself instead of a coach saying 'run from cone to cone with the ball, do this, do that'.'' Pure instinct explained why Bergkamp span the ball around one side of Newcastle United's Nikos Dabizas while he darted the other to beat Shay Given in 2002. "When I scored that goal , it was a feeling. No one can teach you that.''

Instinct runs through two England internationals most associated with street football, Wayne Rooney and Steven Gerrard, products of Merseyside council estates. "I am an admirer of Rooney,'' Bergkamp said. "He has timing, shooting, control and knows where the keeper is because he looked before he controls the ball. He chips the ball and you can look at the footage and the commentator says: 'He never looked at the goalie'. Yes he did! Before!''

Cruyff took up the thread. "That's good – the combination of control and vision.'' "Gerrard has it,'' Bergkamp continued. "I have in mind a cross to Robbie Keane; Gerrard saw Keane move and knew how to hit the ball.''

For all their general concern about a decline in technique, Cruyff and Bergkamp argue that flair still flourishes at the very highest level. "In Barcelona, I see Messi, Bojan, Iniesta and Sergi Busquets, who's so fantastic to watch,'' Cruyff said. "In the Premier League there are a lot of good players like [Theo] Walcott and Van Persie.''

The emergence of such players encouraged Cruyff to believe that Total Football could live in the tactical modern world . "Yes! Why not? It's 11 v 11, the field is the same size. The biggest change is that a lot of people paid attention to the physical side and forgot the technical side.

"Of course winning is important but to enjoy yourself is very important. It's not like the Italians 30 years ago, defending and saying: 'We have to win. How? It doesn't matter.' It does matter.''

Agreement came from Van Persie, who plays for Wenger's style kings, often to the point of over-elaboration. "I respect clubs who want to do it more physically but I am really happy to play this way,'' Van Persie said, although he felt opponents were increasingly physical towards Arsenal. "It's getting worse and worse.

"They give you space in Europe – you can turn without being kicked but if you play a derby like West Ham [Sunday], there's a big difference. The Premier League is so physical. When I first came, I was shocked. What is happening here? I needed to play with my ideas and style, but also adapt. You need to be ready for the physical challenge or you die.''

This is a road once travelled by Bergkamp. "If you are not that physical, and can't win that battle, you have to come up with other solutions: better first touch, quicker passing, better crossing, better finishing. This Arsenal team have that. The way they play football is fantastic. They just need to get a bit more physical, a little bit more clinical in finishing and closing games off, especially when playing a bad game.''

Wenger's approach entranced Van Persie. "I think it is beautiful when I have the ball and can shoot, but pass and a team-mate scores. I don't see it happen with other teams very often. I see lots of strikers playing for themselves – they want to score, they want a transfer, they want more money. Football is not about that. Football is a team sport.''

Nodding at mention of Emile Heskey's selfless pass to set up Rooney against Belarus, Van Persie observed: "That makes the big players. The newspapers go after the one who scored, but it is also about the one who creates the pass. I really like players like Alexander Hleb from Barcelona and Dennis."

Van Persie recalled Esteban Cambiasso's goal – after 24 passes – for Argentina against Serbia and Montenegro at the 2006 World Cup. "We were in the same group and everyone clapped. What a goal! I scored a fantastic volley against Charlton two years ago , and if I had to choose between that and the goal of Cambiasso, I would chose Cambiasso because the whole team is involved. So beautiful.''

Bergkamp agreed. "It is better to have three or four players involved than just one volley – for the camaraderie. If Marco Van Basten scores that goal [the famous Euro 88 volley ] five players might think 'fantastic goal' and another five might say: 'OK he scored but he should have crossed.' If everyone is involved, then everyone says...'' "It's our goal!'' intervened Van Persie.

But what of Maradona? Surely one man can turn a game, a tournament? "The other Argentine players were of a certain level where they think 'if we give him the ball, he will make us champions','' concurred Bergkamp. "But Maradona had so many assists as well,'' Van Persie pointed out. "He made the assist for the final goal in the 1986 World Cup final [for Jorge Burruchaga].''

Van Persie's love of the collective led him initially to dismiss the suggestion that his sculptor father and painter mother bestowed genes now manifesting themselves in his expressive trade. Theirs were solitary pursuits, he argued. "I don't believe there is any connection between my artistic background and my football,'' Van Persie insisted.

"When I was a kid, I was always laughing about my parents. They could look at a tree and see something really nice in it. To me it was just a tree. They were so creative.'' After prompting from Bergkamp, Van Persie briefly fell into line. "I am like that [creative] with the ball, I suppose. Yes, football is art if you play it beautifully.''

His father now makes collages of matches. "He took Arsenal's programmes and turned them into people and it is a crowd shot,'' Van Persie said. "He got the idea from going to see me in the stadium. He thought the fans were a fantastic view. But it [the collage] is really individual. Football is not individual.''

Bergkamp chuckled. "He made a 1 and a 0 for me and that is something really special,'' said Arsenal's most famous No 10. "That is beautiful,'' Van Persie agreed. So is the new Cruyff Court at Elthorne Park.

www.telegraph.co.uk



 

Robin van Persie has admitted the impending return of Eduardo will be a major boost to Arsenal.

Arsene Wenger revealed earlier on Thursday that he expected the Brazil-born Croatia international to return from injury by the middle of November.

Eduardo has not played for Arsenal since suffering a broken leg against Birmingham back in February following a challenge by Martin Taylor.

He had been in fine form in his debut season at Emirates Stadium and Van Persie is looking forward to playing alongside him once again.

"He is really important," the Dutchman told Sky Sports News.

"We were all really unhappy with what happened but I think he dealt with it really well and showed a lot of maturity.

"If you look at his finishing record, we need him."

Arsenal have produced a number of sparkling displays already this season and were somewhere near they best as they swept to a 5-2 victory over Fenerbahce in Turkey on Tuesday.

However, they have also slipped to surprise defeats against Fulham and Hull in the Premier League and Van Persie accepts that it is vital to become consistent.

He said: "I think things are going really well. If you look at the game against Fenerbahce on Tuesday, a really young side played in a really aggressive atmosphere and if you look at what they did it was quite amazing.

"If you look at the past few weeks, the only thing we still need to do is be consistent in the Premier League because we have lost some points.

"But our game is so beautiful that hopefully we can win a trophy with this game this year."

www.skysports.com

Arsenal have to prove their mental strength in each and every game this season, according to Robin van Persie. The Dutchman feels Saturday’s second-half comeback against Everton demonstrated, once again, that Arsène Wenger’s side have no problem with their psyche. The 25-year-old striker, who scored the crucial second goal, argues his young Arsenal side learnt from last season when they led the table for so long but faltered towards the end. "You are playing at home with 60,000 people behind you and it is a bit disappointing when you go 1-0 down," he said. "But you have to think positive. I missed a few chances and was not happy about that but you have to keep going and that is one of the reasons why you play at the top.  At this time, in football, the mental aspect is really important, maybe more than 30 or 40 per cent [of the game]. If you look at the matches against Bolton and Blackburn, the mental aspect was more important than the way we wanted to play. I do not think it is a real big problem for us but every single time we have to prove it again.  Last season we played fantastic for three-quarters of the season and then suddenly everything fell down. I do not know if the reason was mentality, maybe it was a bit of everything, but we learned a lot from last year. The season is long. We've lost some points but we've won some as well so we just have to stay positive.”

www.arsenal.com

Most internationals will return to their clubs with confidence. No other land in Europe is so relaxed in their campaign as Holland now. Three wins in a row and sloppy rivals. The next five months, Oranje is just a nice side-dish. In the months that come, club football will be the main thing. Robin van Persie: “Yeah, that is nice. We are doing well, you can say what you want, but three wins in a row is a great result. We had two away games, so…” A private jet was waiting for Van Persie, Babel, Ooijer, Kuyt and van der Sar, to take them back to England, from Norway. They’d won a day for their prep for the busy competition this weekend. In November this year Oranje will practice against Sweden and in February Van Marwijk hopes to settle on a friendly against Tunesia. These games are meant to keep the rhythm, but there is hardly any pressure on Oranje for the next months. Team manager Van Marwijk can rest his most taxed players and maybe experiment a bit. There is a bit to do, despite the three wins. Oranje played sloppy against Norway. Van Persie: “These type of games are tough, though. For any nation. I really think we did great.” Robin van Persie wasn’t surprised he didn’t start after his hamstring injury. “I discussed it with the coach. We both didn’t think we should be taking the risk.” Van Marwijk uses Van Persie on the right wing, for now. “That’s fine,” says the Gunner. “I play where the coach needs me. It’s hard enough with all those great players. Everyone wants to play for his country. Don’t think I will make trouble at Oranje to play on a certain spot.” Against Everton Robin can play centrally again for his club Arsenal.

www.netherlands.worldcupblog.org

You can find a full match report if you click here!

Mark van Bommel's 62nd-minute volley earned Netherlands a 1-0 win in Norway in their World Cup Group Nine qualifier on Wednesday. After a lacklustre first half, with one chance for the visitors, the match came to life after the break with two chances for Norway's John Carew, while Dirk Kuyt hit the bar for Netherlands. Van Bommel broke the deadlock when a cleared corner kick ended up on his right foot and he unleashed a fierce volley. The Dutch started with Wesley Sneijder and Robin van Persie on the bench and suffered an early blow when Ryan Babel limped off the pitch with an ankle injury after a hard tackle by Morten Gamst Pedersen. Babel's replacement Ibrahim Afellay wasted the first real chance when he fired wide after a fine counter attack. Norway relied on the strength of Carew up front, but rarely threatened after the Aston Villa striker had an early effort saved by Edwin van der Sar. "I expected a Norwegian storm but that never happened," Netherlands coach Bert van Marwijk told RTL4 television. "We controlled the first half but hardly created anything ourselves, while Norway only tried the long ball and created danger with their set pieces. We knew that there always will be a moment that you have to be alert and that happened when we scored the goal." Netherlands are in the driving seat in the group with nine points from three matches, five more than second-placed Scotland.

www.reuters.com

Statistics: http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/preliminaries/europe/matches/round=250471/match=300041217/report.html

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Robin van Persie has recovered from a hamstring injury and declared himself fit for Holland’s game against Norway on Wednesday. The Arsenal star was unavailable for his country’s 2-0 win over Iceland on Saturday, but he has told coach Bert van Marwijk that he is ready to start their next match. "I'm available," he said. “Now I will wait and see whether the coach needs me."

www.setantasports.com

Robin van Persie is back in the Holland squad for the match against Norway on Wednesday. The Arsenal striker will join the Dutch training camp tomorrow. The Dutch medical staff will look how far Van Persie recovered from his hamstring injury. John Heitinga and Nigel de Jong are out for the Norway match.

http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11670_4261379,00.html

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