Nicklas Bendtner came off the bench to score the winner in Arsenal's thrilling 2-1 London derby victory over Tottenham on Saturday. A pulsating second-half saw the Danish forward firing home seconds after his entrance, as Dimitar Berbatov cancelled out Emmanuel Adebayor's opener for the Gunners. Arsenal remain top on 43 points, while Tottenham are in 12th position with 18 points. The Gunners, who scored in every Premiership game this season, had a quite first half, where both goalkeepers were rarely tested. Paul Robinson was called into action for the first time as late as the 34th minute, when he thwarted Emmanuel Eboue's shot. However, the home side made a hectic start to the second half as Adebayor scored his third goal against Spurs this season three minutes after the break.
Almunia saved a crucial penalty The Premiership top scorer finished off a lovely team move when he slid in a cool finish after being brilliantly set up by Cesc Fabregas' backheel pass. Robbie Keane smashed a close range volley into the crossbar after 65 minutes, but the Irish forward was instrumental in Spurs' equalizer less than a minute later. Keane fed Berbatov with a clever backheel, and the latter stunned Manuel Almunia with a fierce effort into the top corner from an almost impossible angle. The visitors were on the front foot after the goal, and the on-fire Berbatov won a 70th minute penalty after being tackled by Kolo Toure. But Keane, who never missed from the spot in the Premiership, blasted his penalty into Almunia's hands, a save which turned out to be crucial. Four minutes later, Arsene Wenger introduced youngster Nicklas Bendtner, and the Denmark striker was on target in no time. Less than ten seconds after his introduction, Bendtner connected powerfully to Fabregas' corner to bury home the winner.
