Arsenal:
               Almunia
       Hoyte Toure Senderos Traore
Walcott Cesc Denilson Diaby (Hleb (Flamini))
      Baptista Aliadiere (Eboue)

Then we got into it. After getting the better of Malbranque, Theo Walcott put Jeremie Aliadiere in down the right hit too strong, ran out of space. But we won it straight back and Aliadiere had a shot blocked. Cesc Fabregas pounced on the rebound but had to go too wide and when he tried to turn it into the goalmouth Aliadiere had been unable to make up the ground.

Moments later Diaby came infield and went on a mazy run across the edge of their box, looking for a chance to shoot, but lost the ball before he could pull the trigger.

Up the other end (10 minutes now) and Berbatov again managed to make space for a shot from the left corner of the box, this one being deflected off a defender and beyond the far post.

On 11 and a half minutes, a cross looped over from their right and Kolo Toure and Manuel Almunia got confused, neither going for the ball, and it fell right on Berbatov's head on the 6 yard line for an easy finish. Perhaps the keeper should have come for it, but even if he had done then Toure would have been right to try to get his head to the ball rather than duck under it. A rare, if not unique, mistake from Kolo.

From the restart, Julio Baptista managed to burst into their box ahead of Dawson, but lost his footing.

Cesc had a free kick given against him for trying to hold a defender off, an awful decision which should have given us a free kick just outside the left corner of thei box.

On 15 minutes, Defoe beat the offside trap on the edge of the box and got a shot in from the right which was saved only to fall to Defoe again whose second shot, also goalbound, was blocked. It then fell to Berbatov who slashed the third shot high and wide.

In the 20th minute Malbranque got lucky winning another dodgy free kick off of Denilson, beating him shoulder-to-shoulder wide on their left wing. Huddlestone whipped it in towards the goalmouth where a Spurs player jumped over the ball and it hit Baptista behind him, deflecting past Almunia inside his right hand post for 2-0.

Diaby won a free kick just inside their box and Cesc lobbed it into the box where Philippe Senderos snuck in for a free header. It was a long way out but he should have done better than send it looping high and wide.

Arsenal responded brilliantly with some frantic attacking play, including a blocked effort from Hoyte after a superb give-and-go with Aliadiere on the edge of their box and a spell of corners and free kick which made it seem like Senderos was playing as a striker now. Toure also got up there and hit a long range shot a yard or two wide.

Baptista got booked for nothing then Toure got booked for a blatant trip on Lennon as he seriously threatened to burst through with a run which started in defence.

The rest of the half was just as breathtaking but with few clear chances. For us, Cesc had a difficult volley from the corner of the box which he couldn't keep down, and Toure went on some rampaging runs. Up the other end Dawson came closest with a header from a corner which he places over.

In injury time an Arsenal corner from the left came right through to Baptista, falling right on his feet by the far post. He got in a tangle, probably not expecting it, and the ball just bounced off him and was cleared before Aliadiere could get there.

Aliadiere started the second half with a good run up the left, he cut inside then hit a shot through the defender's legs but short of the near post.

It was all very frantic still but maybe fewer chances than the first half, the game becoming quite congested in midfield. On 55 minutes, Alexander Hleb came on for Diaby who'd been playing quite narrow for a wide man.

On the hour Aliadiere pulled up feeling his back (it looked like) and Arsenal wasted no time in bringing on Emmanuel Eboue.

Cesc lobbed the ball into their box and the keeper flapped at it, sending the ball back towards goal, but Dawson had tracked back to the goalline and was able to clear it. Moments later Baptista took a free kick from 25 yards which hit the wall and bounced through into the box. Cesc was there but couldn't direct his header past Robinson or with enough power to beat him. Not the easiest of chances though.

Moments later, on 63, the Beat did it again. Hoyte played the ball in from the right to where Baptista and Walcott had taken up positions. The latter's lovely cushioned touch gave Baptista a chance to burst through which he did brilliantly, somehow staying on his feet, and found himself in loads of space in front of Robinson. Another great finish from the League Cup specialist.

The home side looked a bit rattled. Cesc won a free kick on the left then wasted it with a chip through to Robinson. Eboue did brilliantly with a run to the goalline but his cut-back was cut out before it could reach Walcott... playing as a straightforward striker now for the first time I can remember in an Arsenal shirt.

We got lucky with an offside call when Senderos stepped up, it looked to me like Robbie Keane had been level when the ball was lobbed forward and it had put him clean through on Almunia.

Eboue was making a fantastic difference up against the left back who Walcott had got nowhere with. He won a corner which was cleared to Denilson who made a great connection with a shot which rose beyond the far post.

Up the other end, on 72 minutes, Lennon got past Traore and whacked a dangerous low cross across the face of goal but fortunately one of 3 defenders managed to clear it with no white shirt making a move. But Tottenham were coming back into it, sensing perhaps that a 1 goal win against an away goal wouldn't be enough. And that Arsenal were capable of scoring again and all the more so with the influence of Hleb and Eboue.

That substitute pairing combined nicely to set up a low long-range shot from Cesc which he hit well but it just didn't quite curl away from Robinson enough to beat him.

On 76 minutes, it was Hoyte racing onto a ball knocked towards the right corner, Robinson came right out to meet him and Hoyte slipped the ball past to where Baptista was charging in. It came at the Beast a little behind him but he hooked his foot back and knocked it into the open goal for 2-2.

Up the other end Almunia had to come out to meet Defoe and did brilliantly to get a touch on it as the striker tried to nick it over him, reaching up with one hand and sending the ball wide where Defore followed it but where a defender was able to get back and clear.

Hleb seemed to be in a little trouble and again Le Boss wasted no time, Mathieu Flamini coming on.

Traore, who'd been lucky to avoid a booking in the first half, got booked on 81 minutes for an essential trip on Lennon who was breaking clear towards the box.

Now Eboue started limping badly, after battling brilliantly to win a corner. Anoher injured substitute and we'd used all 3 subs already. A Cesc cross from the right came right over to Walcott on the far side of the box beyond the post, but he scuffed his half-volley short of that post. Up the other end, Lennon got free again but again his cross zipped across the goal area with no white shirt making enough effort to get on it.

Keane got unlucky when he did superbly to bring a long ball down but lost his footing as he tried to turn onto the ball. Cesc tried to dribble through a crowd on the edge of their box and nearly pulled off a miracle. Denilson combined well with Baptista but had his shot blocked. It was a mad last few minutes in keeping with the rest of the game.

Of course, hopes were high after the thrashing we gave Liverpool at Anfield, but really a high scoring draw is as much as one generally hopes for from the first leg of a two-legged tie. It'll be fascinating to see if Wenger goes with the same team next week. On the one hand we all want him to have faith in that young side... but on the other one has to say that the 3 subs, all of them experienced first-team starters, made a real difference in the second half.