H-T Tottenham 2-3 Arsenal: Goals galore in full-blooded derby

Arsenal took a narrow lead into half-time after a pulsating first half yielded five goals in tonight's north London derby against Tottenham at White Hart Lane.

Rafael van der Vaart equalised Theo Walcott's fifth-minute opener before Samir Nasri lashed home a 25-yard drive to make it 2-1.

Robin van Persie gave the Gunners a two-goal cushion before Tom Huddlestone's 20-yard rocket pulled one back for Harry Redknapp's men just before the break.

Arsene Wenger made the surprise decision to replace Jack Wilshere with Alex Song.

The Gunners boss chose to drop Wilshere to the bench after a run of 13 straight Barclays Premier League starts left the Professional Footballers' Association Young Player of the Year tired.

Bacary Sagna came in for Emmanuel Eboue at right-back while Tottenham boss Harry Redknapp recalled Peter Crouch in place of Aaron Lennon.

Rafael van der Vaart was expected to shift to the right flank, leaving Crouch to partner Roman Pavlyuchenko up front.

Arsenal were looking to put themselves back in the title race after Sunday's disappointing draw with Liverpool, but they were facing a Tottenham side hungry to claim a league double over their bitter local rivals for the first time in 18 years.

Spurs needed no extra motivation for the match, though, as they knew a win would draw them level with fourth-placed Manchester City.

Spurs made the first move amid a white-hot atmosphere in north London, with Gareth Bale coming within inches of tucking away Vedran Corluka's low cross.

But the home side were stunned in the fifth minute when Arsenal took the lead through Theo Walcott. Tom Huddlestone dithered in the centre of the park, allowing Cesc Fabregas to steal the ball and unleash the forward, who calmly slotted past Heurelho Gomes.

Just two more minutes had passed before Van der Vaart equalised.

The Dutchman broke through Arsenal's defence after being played in by Corluka before he beat Wojciech Szczesny at his near post to claim his first Spurs goal in over two months.

Arsenal were back in the lead five minutes later though as Tottenham's defence were made to pay for backing off as Samir Nasri fired a deflected shot past Gomes from 20 yards.

Another error from Huddlestone almost let Walcott in again before Tottenham raced up the other end before Van der Vaart whistled a 30-yard shot over Szczesny's goal.

Abou Diaby clattered into Luka Modric, but referee Martin Atkinson waved play on, much to Redknapp's anger.

Walcott raced through the stationary Spurs defence just before the half-hour but his shot trickled inches wide.

Modric then burst into the Arsenal penalty area before seeing his shot blocked by Szczesny.

Bale was left needing treatment after coming off second best in an aerial tussle with Szczesny, but returned to action after a couple of minutes on the floor.

Spurs looked for an equaliser but found themselves 3-1 down thanks to Gallas' mistake. The former Arsenal man failed to clear the ball inside the Tottenham box and Walcott crossed to find Van Persie, who beat Gomes at the second attempt after the Brazilian had palmed away the striker's first header.

Bale was carried off on a stretcher after being clattered by Szczesny and limped throughout the remainder of the half. Two minutes before the break Huddlestone put Spurs back in the game with a wonderfully hit low half-volley from 20 yards after Arsenal had cleared a corner.

Spurs had a claim for a penalty denied in injury time as Modric went down under a challenge from Johan Djourou.

Gael Clichy went into the book for a late sliding tackle on Van der Vaart at the death.