Wenger blasted as "two-bob" after Spurs defeat...and Arsenal's woes go on and on

Arsene Wenger became embroiled in another “no handshake” row after Arsenal’s bitterly disappointing 2-1 defeat against North London rivals Tottenham last night.

Wenger, who has refused to shake hands with several Premier League rivals in the past, apparently refused to acknowledge Spurs coach Clive Allen after the derby clash with the former White Hart Lane striker describing the Frenchman as “two bob” – a cockney reference to a worthless character.

Allen, part of a vast footballing dynasty, needed a talking to by a nearby police constable after an apparently foul-mouth altercation with the Gunners’ boss after the game.

The pair also clashed during last year’s 3-3 draw between the two sides. Allen, the scorer of 202 goals in 418 games during a prolific career, failed to make an appearance during his brief spell at Arsenal in 1980. He told The Sun in London: "Wenger refused to shake my hand. He says he didn't see me or hear me — but he's two bob he is, two bob.

“I didn’t call him any dirty words though."

Wenger, under huge pressure after Arsenal’s worst start to a season for 58 years, said: "I shook the hand of the manager Harry Redknapp and the assistant manager Kevin Bond. How many hands do I have to shake? Is there a prescription?

"No words were exchanged and if the story of the game is Clive Allen, you must ask him. He wanted to make himself the story? I think yes."

Pictures in the British press today show Allen clearly attempting to shake Wenger’s hand as he headed for the White Hart Lane tunnel after a match which saw fans from both sides involved in obscene chanting.

Arsenal fans targeted former striker Emmanuel Adebayor, suggesting he should have died when his Togo team were attacked by gunmen before the African Nations Cup in Angola last year. Spurs supporters responded with the age-old paedophile slurs against Wenger.

Redknapp, whose side are now comfortably better off than their traditionally more successful rivals in terms of points and playing staff, said: "Arsene shook hands with me and I'm pleased with that. I think Clive went to shake hands and he missed him. He didn't see him.

"But if he's going to shake hands, either do it and mean it or don't do it at all. If he doesn't want to, he shouldn't.

"OK, Clive wasn't happy but Arsene shook my hand and, for me, that was it."

With his side 15^th in the Premier League table having lost four out of seven so far, Wenger -who famously refused to shake the hand of then-Manchester City boss Mark Hughes in 2009, grumbled: "We played with the handbrake on in the first half. We got back to 1-1 but then we didn't push on enough. That shows we are not playing with confidence."

Rafael van der Vaart scored the 10,000th goal in Tottenham history just before halftime and Kyle Walker clinched the victory with his first for the club in the 73rd minute after Aaron Ramsey's equaliser for Arsenal.

Wenger, who saw Polish goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny let the winner slip through his hands, also lost full-back Bacary Sagna on the brink of the international break this week. He said: "We are very worried about his injury, the first signs don't look good. It's the fibula and ankle that needs to be checked ... he was pushed quite hard. I don't know what happened when he landed, did he land the wrong way?''

Spurs 2, Arsenal 1: Rose rises to the occasion and reliant Robin arrives too late

DANNY ROSE, thirty yards out, on his Premier League debut, just ten minutes in. A packed White Hart Lane, one of the fiercest derbies in football and the ball comes down out of the sky on to his left foot.

And what does the lad from Doncaster do? He rifles the ball into the net. A Roy of the Rovers scorcher. Incredible. The difference between the two arch-rivals as 90 fascinating minutes ended 2-1 to Spurs at White Hot Lane.

Was there anybody in the ground not wondering why Leeds United academy graduate Rose had been picked ahead of former Gunner David Bentley?

But for Spurs boss Harry Redknapp, this was the Rose among the thorns in the North London showdown which simply had to be won. And win it Spurs did, despite Arsenal’s dominance. Thank you, Danny Boy.

Sure, Arsenal were without their spine. No Cesc Fabregas, no Andrei Arshavin, no William Gallas and, crucially, no Alex Song to shore up the midfield. And then they lost Thomas Vermaelen after twenty minutes.

Unbeaten in this fixture this century, Arsenal dominate Premier League meetings between the two - in 35 games since the new system started in 1991, Arsenal have won 14, Spurs can now claim six, with 16 draws.

Sol Cambell, the man who left White Hart Lane on a free for Highbury a decade ago, got his traditional greeting – and his flying knee offered the first chance, which was saved off the line by Benloit Assou-Ekotto after four minutes. It was to be Arsenal’s only chance in 80 minutes of dominance. Nearly as incredible as Rose’s goal was the fact that Arsenal have managed to stay in contention for so long without a decent striker.

Roman Pavlyuchenko gave the Gooners a scare of their own nine minutes in. And then came the Broadway Danny Rose moment. Arsenal goalkeeper Manuel Almunia punched the ball out and the man signed from Leeds on July 25 2007 for a mere £1m produced the perfect volley. Spaniard Almunia, who has offered to switch allegiance to England, could only flap at the ball as it flew past him.

England Under 21 international Daniel Lee Rose failed to score on loan at Watford or Peterborough last year. This was the first strike of his career and he may never score a better goal – or a more important one - than he did last night.

At barely 5ft 8in, he’s no giant. But then neither is Lionel Messi. It’s all about shape, technique, composure. He showed it all with his first touch in the Premier League.

From that moment on, Arsenal dominated the game and the experienced Tottenham stars like Jermain Defoe, Roman Pavlyuchenko and Luka Modric failed to show. Peter Crouch? England’s most dangerous striker didn’t even make the starting line-up with the World Cup looming.

But Arsenal, for all their possession, never really looked like threatening Heurelho Gomes in the Spurs goal. An epic first half ended with Rose’s moment of magic separating the teams.

Redknapp promptly took Rose off at half-time, bringing on Bentley. But if Arsenal thought that might make things easier, they were soon proved wrong.

Gareth Bale, the in-form full-back pushed into midfield, scored his first goal in nearly three seasons when he found himself left alone on the far post by sub Mikhael Silvestre and Gael Cliche. Less than two minutes into the second half and Arsenal were 2-0 down.

Despite the impotence of Tomas Rosicky and Denilson, Arsenal continued to enjoy the bulk of the possession, but Nicklas Bendtner, allegedly a lone striker, opted to lie deep. Arsenal, as Gooners have been saying all season, offered nothing in front of goal.

With a fit-again Robin van Persie waiting to come on, Emmanuel Adebayor sold to Manchester City and Eduardo Da Silva unable to recover from his traumatic ankle injury, Arsene Wenger’s failure to sign Marouane Chamakh from Bordeaux in January continues to look like the biggest mistake of a distinguished career.

Wenger told an angry General Meeting at the Emirates: “Judge me by what we achieve this season.”

And for a sixth season in a row, the trophy cabinet at Arsenal will stay empty, like Wenger’s promises. Before this one, he admitted: “If we lose here, the title is over for us.”

He threw on winger Theo Walcott for full-back Bakary Sagna after just 53 minutes with Van Persie warming up on the sideline, eager for his first game in four months. How Chelsea and their fans must have been chortling at this point.

Arsenal’s best player? The 35-year-old free transfer from Notts County, Campbell. A rock at the back who deserves at least a vague phone call from England manager Fabio Capello before the World Cup kicks-off on June 11.

Their worst? Bendtner. Even more incompetent than the over-priced, mostly-injury Tomas Rosicky, a bounced Czech if ever I saw one. The Great Dane failed to understand his role. Expending useless energy on the chase. Never threatening to rouse Gomes from his slumbers in the Spurs goal.

Look, this wasn’t the Beautiful Game in all it’s glory... but it was a flowing, glowing North London derby. I’d like to say there were chances at either end, but with Arsenal forgetting to field a striker, that’s not true. But when Van Persie eventually came on, Gomes was forced to work like a Trojan.

For most of the 42 minutes after Tottenham’s second goal, Arsenal piled on the pressure. Abou Diaby huffed and puffed, Samir Nasri twinkled, Walcott made those searing runs down the right.

But as all true Gooners will attest, this Arsenal lacks shooters. Not a shot in sight. Spurs, on their rare forays forward, simply shot on sight. That’s how you score goals.

And still Van Persie warms up on the sidelines, still Chelsea chortle, still the cockerel-badged Spurs fans crow. Less than half-an-hour to play. Ledley King and Younes Kaboul at the back are having no trouble. You get the impression one of them might produce the giant Bendtner from a pocket after the match and sigh: “Ah, there you are Nicky boy.”

Van Persie’s arrival after 73 minutes heralded the first save of the game from Gomes seven minutes later. A neat turn and shot showed Arsenal fans what they’d been missing but the Brazilian goalkeeper was equal to it. He was even better three mintues later, keeping out a Van Persie free-kick.

Then he brilliantly denied a Campbell header and suddenly Spurs were hanging on.

But it had to come. Van Persie found Walcott, perfect ball across the face... and Bendtner nabbed his ninth goal in 11 games from a yard.

Game on. Five minutes left. Another rasping shot from Van Persie, another great save from Gomes. Arsenal denied an obvious corner. Crouch on for Pavlyuchenko. Three to go.

But it wouldn’t come. Victory for Spurs and a chance of that elusive first Champions League appearance for finishing fourth. Gomes eventually won the Man of the Match award for those four stunning saves after 80 minutes of inactivity. Captain Ledly King said: "He's one of the best in the world at the moment. He's saved us so many times. We feel we can beat anyone at home - even Chelsea next week."

Gomes himself said: "It's a great win but it's not the most important. Every game is important. It's not easy to concentrate with nothing to do. But I think we played some game. We have Chelsea coming up. We need to perform like that again."

You Can Keep Your El Classico: Give Me Spurs v Arsenal and a Reliant Robin Van Persie any old day

YEAH, yeah, yeah. Lionel Messi against Cristiano Ronaldo. Catalan versus Castillian. Barcelona 2, Real Madrid 0. All so predictable.

You want a real derby? Something with a little grunt? Try the North London showdown. Wednesday night. But don't get caught in the wrong pub.

Arsenal desperately need a win to close the gap on Chelsea at the top of the Premier League. Spurs can't afford to slip up or they won't make that fabled fourth place and their first ever crack at the Champions League.

It doesn't get any more urgent, any more passionate. All over the world, exiled Londoners and those who have never been anywhere near Big Ben will be watching... and at workplaces from New Zealand to New York the mickey will be mercilessly taken by those who have followed Gunners or Yids all their lives.

And for those who think the Catalan v Castillian problem gives El Classico extra zip... or Celtic's Catholics versus Rangers' Protestants is the be-all-and-end-all, think again. All kinds of things, religion, class, history, divide Spurs fans from Gooners.

But the split also separates brother from sister, father from son, tears best mates apart, if only for an evening. It's only 6.13 kilometres (3.81 miles) from White Hart Lane to the sparkling new Emirates Stadium. But the two are a world apart.

Spurs, who last saw real glory with the double in 1961, nearly 50 years of penalty envy rankle deep in the soul. They change managers constantly...Gerry Francis, caretaker Chris Hughton, Christian Gross, David Pleat, George Graham, Pleat again, Glenn Hoddle, caretaker Pleat yet again, Jacques Santini, Martin Jol, Juande Ramos and HarryRedknapp have all been in charge since Arsene Wenger joined Arsenal in 1996.

But then we must consider Arsenal's trophy cabinet, desolate for the past five seasons. They finish above Spurs every season despite the bigger spending of their neighbours, but the silverware that characterised the early years of Wenger's reign are notably absent.

That could change this season. A win at White Hart Lane on Wednesday night would put them level with Chelsea at the top with four games left to play - but only if the League leading Blues lose to battling Bolton at Stamford Bridge tomorrow. And that's a hugely unlikely if.

Defeat or even a draw against old rivals Spurs would essentially end Arsenal's title hopes, just as Manchester United's draw at Blackburn on Sunday leaves the champions struggling.

And to add extra spark, Arsenal's Dutch striker Robin van Persie could make his long awaited return. He'd scored eight in 11 games before rupturing his ankle ligaments during the Holland's friendly against Italy last November.

Before Van Persie was crocked, Arsenal were threatening to run riot, scoring 3.26 goals per game. Since then, they've averaged 1.77 with lankly Nicklas Bendtner, broken Eduardo Da Silva and inexperienced Carlos Vela attempting to fill the gap.

Van Persie's return would be hugely significant. Arsenal sold Emmanuel Adebayor to Manchester City and turned down the chance to replace him with Bordeaux's MarouaneChamakh in January. They've been relying on Cesc Fabregas and Andrei Arshavin to score goals from deep - but both are out, injured by the Messi end to their Champions League campaign at the hands of Barca.

Three points would keep Arsenal in realistic contention and see them leapfrog Manchester United into second place. Their run in of Wigan, Manchester City, Blackburn and Fulham has sparked real optimism in the Gooner ranks.

That may encourage Wenger to name Van Persie in his injury-ravaged squad, who play their first match since being knocked out of the Champions League by Barcelona last Tuesday.

Also out? William Gallas, Aaron Ramsey, Johan Djourou... and possibly defensivemidfielder Alex Song, perhaps their most improved player of the season.

So will Wenger throw Van Persie in early, when he stands accused of doing just that with Gallas and Fabregas just a fortnight ago against Barcelona?

It looks like it. Rumours emanating from Arsenal's London Colney training ground claim his work with Dutch amateurs AFC Amsterdam has resulted in him "stunning onlookers" with his work-rate.

And we have the canny Wenger, desperate to stay in the title race at the expense of his arch-rivals, insisting: "Robin is in a good shape. Physically and fitness-wise. We have just to get him back to full team fitness."

Whether he has managed that, we will find out on Wednesday. By then they will know if they are three or six points behind Chelsea.

Spurs? They were knocked out of their rhythm by Portsmouth in the FA Cup semi-final on Sunday, beaten 2-0 in extra-time by the poorest side in the world. Striker Peter Crouch has taken a pasting from the fans since - especially as Manchester City, their main rivals for fourth place and Champions League qualification, crushed Birmingham 5-1.

But boss Harry Redknapp insisted today:

We couldn't have a better game now," said Harry. "If I had to choose a game, I'd choose Arsenal at home for the next one.

"Sunday was a bad day, but what can you do? Life is full of highs and lows. That was a big low, but we've had plenty of highs this season. The mark is how you pick yourselves up.

"It wasn't ideal preparation for Wednesday, for sure. The players have to rest now and get ready to go again. It's about how you recover and respond.

"Arsenal is a massive game and we've got to come back and try and win that game - it's all-important for us."