Egypt duo Hossam Ghaly and Ahmed Hossam 'Mido' missed as Tottenham were crushed 3-0 by north London rivals Arsenal in the Premiership at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday. Togolese striker Emmanuel Adebayor, who started instead of Thierry Henry as the Frenchman suffers from neck injury, opened the score line in the 20th minute. Brazilian midfielder Gilberto Silva converted two controversial penalties to ensure the win for Arsenal, who slumped to a 2-1 defeat to Fulham in the midweek game. The victory put Arsenal in third place of the Premiership table with 25 points while Tottenham lie 12th on 19 points. Former Feyenoord midfielder Ghaly missed the game due to suspension and Mido failed to make the squad because of injury. Adebayor put the hosts in front in the 20th minute when he collected Kolo Toure's long pass and beat the offside trap before slotting home past Tottenham keeper Paul Robinson.
Graham Poll made two controversial decisions Gilberto doubled the lead from the penalty spot three minutes before the break when Tomas Rosicky was allegedly brought down by Pascal Chimbonda inside the area. Television replays showed that the French full-back initially touched the ball before making any contact with Rosicky. Arsenal were awarded another debatable penalty in the 72nd minute when Robin van Persie was subjected to a tackle from behind by Jermaine Jenas. Van Persie appeared to have handled the ball before making his way into the opponents' 18-years box. Brazilian international Gilberto stepped-up again and fired past Robinson to ensure the victory for Gunners.
