Gunners At War As Adebayor Headbutts Bendtner

As Arsenal capitulated against bitter rivals Tottenham Hotspur in the Carling Cup semi-final, things went from bad to worse as strikers Emmanuel Adebayor and Nicklas Bendtner clashed heads on the field of play, an encounter that left the Danish youngster with blood on his shirt...

Tottenham tore apart city rivals Arsenal at White Hart Lane in front of a roaring crowd and eventually ran out 5-1 winners, and 6-2 on aggregate.

They had been the better side in the first leg, and in truth Arsenal were lucky to come away from that home tie with the draw, maintaining their unbeaten streak at their new home.

Spurs showed no mercy, which will delight their fans no end, as too often they float between blunders and brilliance.

Scoring in the second minute did their cause the world of good, and the own goal had a degree of fortune to it, but that should by no means take anything away from Spurs, who were by far the better side across the two legs.

Arsenal were all too aware of that fact, as frustrations boiled over on the pitch towards the end of the game, with team-mates Nicklas Bendtner and Emmanuel Adebayor squaring up to each other and furious words were exchanged between the two.

Skipper William Gallas intervened, castigating Bendtner in full view of the capacity crowd and television cameras; referee Howard Webb also arrived on the scene to talk things over with the players concerned, but no cards were issued following the incident.

As the players headed down the tunnel at the end of the game Adebayor was restrained, and Bendtner had a visible gash on the bridge of his nose and blood on his shirt; it is thought that Adebayor headbutted Bendtner during their initial altercation.

Manager Arsene Wenger denied any knowledge of the incident, as is his trademark when questioned by the media regarding less complimentary issues involving his club.

"I don't know anything about it. Really I don't know," he insisted.

This incident will no doubt make a mockery of Arsenal's team spirit, which has been the source of high praise this season, many saying that since Thierry Henry's departure to Barcelona that the dressing room was much more unified and that there was less pressure.

It will take a lot to shake off such a humiliation, and it will truly be a test of the Gunners' character whether they can come out of this the same force they were in the first half of the season.