A fine start to Arsenal's big week, as the French connection came together to give us a deserved 2 goal win over the old enemy.

Tottenham, with a host of first team players out, defended in numbers, and to good effect.

Those defences were only broken with 20 minutes to go, by a cracking goal from Robert Pires. It always looked like it'd take a good one to beat Neil Sullivan today. Bob picked up a ball into the left hand side of the box, and cut back onto his better right foot before curling the ball past a couple of defenders and just inside the far post.

Henry made the points safe with 5 minutes to go, when Kanu's pass put him clear on goal. Oh, there was a defender. But once he'd been turned inside-out on the edge of the box, Thierry found himself in front of the advancing Sullivan and slotted it calmly low past the keeper.

Henry had the best other chance, in the first half, when he cut back in from a similar position to Pires's goal only closer and went for the near post. Unfortunately, he hit that post and saw the ball bounce across the face of goal.

Pires had a good chance in the first half too, again from that position on the left of the box. But this time he'd gone for it with his left foot and hit it straight at Sullivan.

The game started in a sombre mood, following a well-respected minute's silence for David Rocastle (well-respected by both sets of fans, well done Tottenham). Rocky was a true fans' favourite at Arsenal, a key part of so many happy memories. There were more than a few damp eyes around the place, and Rocky's name rang out through the stadium for long parts of the game. Goodness knows how the players manage to play at all on days like these. Lee Dixon, interviewed after the game, admitted it had been hard to motivate himself, but that in the end he wanted to win the game for Rocky.

Of course, the win means little in terms of the league, even if it does reduce the deficit to 13 points (Man Utd lost an Anfield earlier) and help keep us clear in second (now 7 points ahead of the next club, Leeds, see table). But anything more than a loss would have been a huge confidence boost for Tottenham ahead of next Sunday's semi. They'll be stronger going forward next week, with a few players returning. But they're all just Tottenham players (that's all they've got).

See match reports page for list of links to reports on other sites.