Time is standing still for Spurs

The scoreline suggests

the gap is closing

between two teams

stationed at either end

of the Seven Sisters

Road — but Arsenal’s

supporters can sleep easy for

at least another season.

No team in history has been in

transition quite as long as Tottenham

Hotspur and time appears to

be standing still with their latest

failure to put one over their north

London rivals.

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Although the two sides are

separated by just four places in the

Premiership, Martin Jol’s side are

just not making any ground.

The Tottenham manager determines

the quality of his team by

comparing how many players from

White Hart Lane would walk into

their neighbour’s team, but it is

unlikely to take up too much of his

time.

Aside from Dimitar Berbatov, a

player who oozes genuine class, the

regulars in Jol’s side would be

thanking their good fortune for a

place on the substitutes’ bench if they were wearing the red and

white of Arsenal.

"We have been competing for the

top six for the past three years,"

said Jol.

"Last year we were the best

of the rest and maybe this year we

can do it again.

"If you tell me we should be the

same as Arsenal, I’d ask how many

of our players could play for them

and how many of theirs would get

in our team.

"They are still a bit better than us.

They are fourth in the League but,

with the talent they have, they will

want to be champions next year.

"If we want to compete with clubs

like that, we have a lot still to do."

At least Jol speaks with honesty

and sincerity, but those words are

unlikely to cut too much ice with

Tottenham’s supporters.

They have been playing second

fiddle to the artisans down the road

for too long and their players trod

an all-too-familiar path at White

Hart Lane.

After taking the lead through

Robbie Keane, they simply sat

back and invited trouble in the

same way as they did in the Carling

Cup semi-final back in January.

Win it for David Dein,’ remarked

Arsene Wenger ahead of the game

and they very nearly did. With the

introduction of Cesc Fabregas for

the injury-prone Freddie Ljungberg

just before the break, Arsenal

settled into their stride.

Fabregas, who was nominated for

last night’s PFA Young Player of

the Year award, was left out of the

starting line-up because of a virus,

but they patch this man up and put

him on the pitch at any cost.

Tottenham’s triumvirate in the

centre of midfield could not get

near him and his elegant display

underlined the gulf in class

between the two sides.

Predictably, Arsenal levelled

when Kolo Toure converted the

midfielder’s 64th-minute free-kick

and Fabregas was again the

provider when Emmanuel

Adebayor eventually found his way

on to the score sheet. Victory would

have secured Arsenal’s place in

next season’s Champions League,

but they need only another point to

secure their 10th successive season

in European football’s premier

competition.

Qualifying for the Champions

League is out of Tottenham’s reach

— as it was last season thanks to a

few stomach upsets on the final day

at Upton Park. Now they are in a

mad scramble for a UEFA Cup

place with Everton, Bolton, Reading

and Portsmouth.

Jol added: "Arsenal would like to

achieve a bit more — they are

fourth in the League — and with

60,000 supporters at every home

game, they will be disappointed to

be fourth.

"Last year we were above them for

seven months and that was a good

achievement. In the first half, we

should have killed them off. We

dominated in spells."

Arsenal could have also been

playing against 10 men after Jens

Lehmann elbowed Berbatov in the

side of the head but the Arsenal

keeper escaped with his eighth

yellow card of the season.

Lehmann’s thespian tendencies

certainly enrich the Premiership —

who can forget the stand-up

routine with Didier Drogba that

left Stamford Bridge in stitches last

December? — but he should have

been sent off for his antics at White

Hart Lane.

Even Wenger acknowledges that

his eccentric keeper has a problem

with his temperament but, at 37, it

is too late for change.

The Arsenal chief admitted: "Eight yellows is a problem. I don’t

feel he is especially guilty, but I

spoke to the linesman at half-time

and he said Lehmann put his elbow

in the guy’s face. If that is the case,

he shouldn’t have done it.

"Sometimes he overreacts, but

overall he doesn’t get the same

protection as other keepers."

There was certainly no hiding

place for him after he failed to spot

Jermaine Jenas’s last-minute

strike, but the celebrations in the

stands were short-lived.

Tottenham have a game in hand

on their UEFA Cup rivals and

failure to make it would be a

significant step backwards for Jol.