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| Kyle Walker's superb strike inflicted another defeat on sorry Arsenal |
For 16 years, Tottenham have lived in the shadow of their fierce North London rivals Arsenal.
They have not finished above the Gunners in all that time and have seen their neighbours sweep up league titles and cups, but now it seems they have leaped above them as the premier team of the area.
Spurs' 2-1 win over Arsenal yesterday may have been slightly fortuitous, but it is hard to argue the team from White Hart Lane are not the better side.
Kyle Walker's ferocious winner 17 minutes from time capped a thrilling game which neither side truly deserved to lose, but the visitors will have been left ruing defensive errors yet again.
Arsenal have had a disastrous start to the season and the defence is the root of all their problems.
Wojciech Szczesny has been superb and made some great saves at White Hart Lane, but he will have been disappointed with his role in Tottenham's winner.
Walker's 25-yard piledriver had plenty of pace on it and swerved all over the place, but it shouldn't have beaten the Polish goalkeeper who had seemingly been caught unaware.
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| Walker's goal was struck with huge power and swerve |
Mertesacker often seemed off the pace and indecisive while Song looked exactly what he is: a midfielder trying to fill a defender's role.
Szczesny will rightly get the majority of the blame for Walker's winner but the role of Mikel Arteta should also be criticised.
Tottenham had a throw-in deep in Arsenal's half and Arteta was marking Sandro, but the Spaniard completely lost his man who was allowed to start the chain of events which led to the goal.
It is that lack of concentration, lack of awareness, lack of know-how, which has cost Arsenal dear all too often in the early stages of this season.
Arteta is looking like a poor signing from manager Arsene Wenger.
He was a great player in his first few years at Everton but has never returned to those levels since a horror knee injury in 2009.
Even in those successful times at Goodison Park, he was a poor man's Cesc Fabregas.
Wenger was never going to find a player of Fabregas' quality in the closing stages of the transfer window but surely he could have done better than an over-the-hill 29-year-old.
He was pretty much non-existent at White Hart Lane when his skill and precision was needed.
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| Arteta was overshadowed by Spurs midfield duo Modric and Parker |
Their defence was anything but solid and looked shaky every time Tottenham went forward, they struggled to create clear-cut chances and when they did create, their forwards were simply not potent enough.
Gervinho was a real bright spark for them but his lack of final product will be worrying.
He had a gilt-edged chance about 10 yards out with the score at 0-0 but inexplicably put Robin van Persie's ball wide after wrong-footing goalkeeper Brad Friedel.
Spurs' opener had a touch of controversy and was against the run of play, but in truth it was only a matter of time before Arsenal's defence was breached.
Emmanuel Adebayor was given far too much time to pick out Rafael van der Vaart and the Dutchman finished superbly after being left free on the far side.
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| van der Vaart has an impressive scoring record against Arsenal |
van der Vaart had already been booked and deliberate handball would have seen him receive a second yellow, while he then went into the crowd to celebrate - another bookable offence - so perhaps Arsenal do have a right to feel aggrieved about the whole incident.
The Gunners equalised - deservedly - after some early second half pressure through Aaron Ramsey, who finished Alex Song's cross brilliantly.
Overall, though, the Welshman had a torrid afternoon.
He was taught a lesson in ball retention by Scott Parker and Luka Modric, with Ramsey giving the ball away more often than he seemingly ever has.
Despite all the negativity, there were some positives to take away for Wenger and his side.
In Francis Coquelin they have a young player not overawed by the big occasions and he was arguably Arsenal's standout outfield player here.
He has had a baptism of fire, playing in the 8-2 humbling at Manchester United and now the derby defeat, but comes out of those experiences with a lot of credit having proved he is good enough.
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| Coquelin again impressed on the big stage |
They were not the gibbering wreck they were at Old Trafford or Ewood Park and they were on top for large periods, certainly in the possession stakes.
Silly errors are still blighting them and they are not getting in enough shots on goal, but their play in between the two boxes is still impressive.
In and around the two penalty areas, however, is a different story and an issue Wenger simply has to sort out.
They had a lot of the ball but never really threatened, they looked shaky at the back and struggled to create a lot going forward.
They were better than they have been but the problems are all too plain to see. They could have been embarrassed if Spurs had been on the top of their game.
Wenger's excuses will still be there: they are missing Cesc Fabregas, Samir Nasri and Gael Clichy, they are missing injured stars like Jack Wilshere and Thomas Vermaelen. However, the squad's lack of quality depth is his fault and his fault only and it will be examined again in the coming weeks.
Bacary Sagna is a superb right-back but picked up a broken leg at White Hart Lane, meaning inexperienced Carl Jenkinson will presumably become first-choice right-back.
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| Jenkinson struggled to cope with Bale's quality |
This experience could break him and shatter his confidence as he is being destroyed defensively.
Gareth Bale was kept relatively subdued until Jenkinson came on but then ran the Finnish defender ragged and jumped on his inexperience.
It is unfair to focus solely on Arsenal, though.
Tottenham were not at their very best but they showed enough to demonstrate they are superior to Arsenal.
Scott Parker ran the show in midfield and showed Arsenal exactly what they are missing.
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| Parker handed Ramsey a lesson at White Hart Lane |
Parker seemingly covered every blade of grass and is exactly the type of player Arsenal have needed for years now.
Luka Modric appears back to his best after the summer transfer saga while the defence is solid.
Ledley King is playing week-in, week-out for the first time in years and his calming presence ensures Spurs will not concede the type of stupid goals Arsenal are at the moment.
Right-back Walker looks a real talent and deserved his place in the England squad which was named last night.
It was more than just his goal which was impressive, but the sheer audacity he showed to go for it showed the supreme self-confidence he has.
Walker offers a real attacking outlet and could be England's top right-back in the absence of Glen Johnson. In fact, he might just be England's top right-back even when Johnson is fit.
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| Adebayor is still respected by Wenger |
Adebayor - the subject of vile taunts by Gunners fans - was not at his very best against his former club and was denied by Szczesny when one-on-one, but he was always threatening and will score goals this season.
Arsenal were perhaps summed up in the tunnel before the game by their captain Robin van Persie.
He was seen laughing, joking with and hugging some Spurs players while counterpart Ledley King stared with a steely determination.
Would Patrick Vieira have been engaging in this way with the opposition? Tony Adams? Roy Keane? John Terry? Of course not.
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| The infamous tunnel incident between Vieira and Keane shows the passion Arsenal are lacking |
Until they discover another figure like Vieira and Adams, they will always struggle on the big occasion because players need someone to lead by example when the going gets tough and show their opposition no mercy.
As for the game, this fixture never disappoints. It is always frenetic and always provides talking points, but this was not a happy occasion for Arsenal fans.
Disgraced off the pitch by vile chanting and humbled on it by individual errors, poor defending and a lack of cutting edge.
For so long they have been North London's top dogs but seven games into this season they find themselves in 15th position and behind the three newly-promoted clubs, while being five points behind their neighbours, who have a game in hand.
They have relinquished their position as the premier team of North London and we don't have to wait for the season's final league table to say that.
Arsenal are well behind Tottenham for the first time in a very long time and it will take a lot of time and effort to wrestle that position back.
The way Harry Redknapp's vibrant Spurs are playing, they may soon be marching back into the Champions League, but if Arsenal aren't careful, they could be battling to stay out of the bottom three rather than for a place in the top four.
The balance of power in North London has shifted and it may now be time for Arsenal to live in Tottenham's shadow.
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