Live Commentary: North London derby - Arsenal vs. Tottenham Hotspur

Good afternoon and welcome to Sports Mole's live coverage of this afternoon's North London derby between Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur at the Emirates.

The Gunners will be hoping to avoid completing a hellish fortnight which has seen them suffer a four-goal defeat in the Champions League and exit the FA Cup.

They face Tottenham, now arguably the powerhouse of North London, a side they haven't beaten in the last four meetings.

Buoyant Spurs are looking to complete a first league double over their local rivals since the 1992-93 season after triumphing in the reverse fixture at White Hart Lane in October.

> Full team news for today's game

(Please refresh this page for the latest updates)

FULL-TIME: Mike Dean calls an end to a wonderful game of football. Yes, the defending was questionable for a few of the goals but a brilliant comeback from the Gunners. After going two down they netted five without reply with Van Persie as ever the catalyst. Ryan Giggs's late goal won the game for Manchester United at Carrow Road while Stoke have just gone one up on Swansea in the 3pm kick off thanks to Matt Upson. Thanks for joining Sports Mole for this amazing encounter. We've also got live commentary on the Carling Cup final between Cardiff and Liverpool, which kicks off in half an hour.

90 min: Three minutes added time signalled as Arsenal continue to press for a sixth.

87 min: Red card for Scott Parker! Silly from the England dynamo who is late on Vermaelen. Dean rightly gives him his second yellow and Parker knows he's made a mistake. He'll now miss the visit of Manchester United, who have just restored their lead at Norwich thanks to Ryan Giggs on his 900th United appearance. Legend.

86 min: Kyle Walker's still got gas left in the tank and he sprints clear down the right but can only find Szczesny with his centre.

82 min: Oxlade-Chamberlain, who many felt should have started instead of Benayoun, replaces two-goal Walcott, who leaves to a big hand from the Emirates faithful.

78 min: Van Persie collects his fifth booking of the season but he won't miss the next game because of the mid-season cut-off point. There's also news from Carrow Road where Grant Holt has equalised in the 84th minute.

76 min: Lovely, lovely stuff from Arsenal. Rosicky, who's surely having the best game in a Gunners shirt for many years, exchanges passes with the equally impressive Walcott but his side-footed effort drifts just wide.

75 min: Bale, who must've thought his earning of a penalty had set Spurs on the way to victory, has a go from 25 yards but it curls over.

72 min: Spurs, as expected, are pressing to get back into this and Sandro almost finds the net but his deflected shot is held by Szczesny.

68 min: GOAL! Walcott strikes again! 5-2 Arsenal!

Surely that's that now? Walcott shows some real class in front of goal again by finishing low after an excellent lobbed through ball from Song.

66 min: Really rousing stuff for the Arsenal faithful. Let's not forget how comfortable Spurs looked with a two-goal cushion earlier, long way to go yet.

65 min: GOAL! 4-2 Arsenal! Walcott!

This is such an open game and Walcott finishes off a swift counter attack. Van Persie finds himself up against two Spurs defenders but the excellent Dutchman manages to wriggle free and he slides in the onrushing Walcott, whose touch isn't great but the clipped finish over Friedel is.

63 min: All over at Hillsborough where Wednesday have secured a 1-0 win over the Blades as Arteta's free kick deflects just wide.

61 min: Sandro's getting stuck in here. First he upsets Arteta, who throws some expletives at the Brazilian, before the Spurs substitute goes into the book for an ugly challenge on Van Persie.

58 min: Oh so close to 4-2. Rosicky slides in and finds Walcott, whose speed takes him away from the Spurs defence. You can tell the Englishman wants to find Van Persie but the pass isn't on and he tries to find the far corner and is inches away from doing so.

56 min: Not this time for Van Persie who finds a yard of space on the left of the box but slices high, wide and handsome.

51 min: GOAL! Turnaround complete! Rosicky makes it 3-2 Arsenal!

They've done it. What a comeback from Wenger's men. Rosicky scores his first Premier League goal in 50 appearances. The Czech advances and slides to Sagna, whose cross takes a nick and finds the onrushing midfielder, who lifts over Friedel to finish the move he started.

49 min: In the Steel City derby Wednesday have taken the lead through Chris O'Grady. Looks like bragging rights are going to the blue half of Sheffield with minutes left at Hillsborough.

47 min: Friedel again makes a wonderful save, this time from Benayoun who found space in the area and tried, Thierry Henry-like to slide into the far corner.

46 min: Two changes being made by Redknapp, Sandro for Kranjcar and Van der Vaart for Saha. No messing from the Tottenham manager.

HALF-TIME: What a half of football. Spurs led by two thanks to the new strike pair of Saha and Adebayor but Arsenal responded through Sagna and Van Persie. United also lead by one at Carrow Road thanks to veteran Scholes. In Sheffield it's still 0-0 between Wednesday and United with around 20 minutes to go.

45 min: The North London derby does tend to produce brilliant games of football and that's certainly the case here. Wenger's the chirpiest man in the stadium while Redknapp looks disconsolate on the bench. What will the Spurs boss say to gee up his players at the break?

43 min: GOAL! Van Persie levels for Arsenal!

Wow. Robin van Persie really is something to behold. The Dutchman collects on the edge of the area, turns to make some space and curls a brilliant effort past Friedel. Great comeback from Arsenal.

40 min: GOAL! Sagna makes it 2-1!

This really is an excellent game of free-flowing football and there's hope for the Gunners. They are back within one after Sagna bullets home a header. In the build-up to the goal Van Persie rattled the post after intricate work from Walcott. The ball fell to Gibbs and eventually the cross came in from Arteta and Sagna's header was unstoppable.

38 min: Geoff Shreeves on Sky Sports reports that Harry Redknapp has reported a fan to the fourth official who said something offensive to the Spurs boss. Shreeves thinks that Redknapp has asked a steward for him to be removed.

36 min: This could turn nasty for Arsenal. Walcott breaks clear and should maybe go for goal but he lazily looks for Van Persie and the chance has gone. Up the other end Bale goes clear and as opposed to Walcott is too greedy when he should have squared for Saha.

34 min: GOAL! 2-0 Tottenham! Adebayor pen!

Bale's pace really is something to behold. He sprints clear of two Gunners defenders and falls after nicking the ball past Szczesny. Replays show that there was little, if any, contact. That's the bad side to Bale, clear dive.

32 min: PENALTY TO TOTTENHAM!

30 min: Arteta blasts the wall with the free kick before Koscielny also goes into Dean's book for a late challenge on Kranjcar.

28 min: Joe Jordan is scary isn't he? Scott Parker is clearly tripped as Spurs try to break away again. Mike Dean does award a free kick to Arsenal as Scott Parker goes in high on Van Persie right on the edge of the area. The England midfielder receives a booking and it's a big chance from 20 yards. Modric was also cautioned for dissent.

24 min: Arsenal's defensive frailties are really being exposed by the lighting speed of Spurs' counter-attack. This time Adebayor makes it look all too easy in breaking away but he can't beat Szczesny. The rebound falls to Kyle Walker, whose rocket of a shot smacks the side netting.

21 min: RVP almost makes the breakthrough by turning Scott Parker before firing just wide. From the resulting corner Brad Friedel makes not a contender for save of the season but the save of the season from Rosicky's header. Stunning from the 40-year-old.

19 min: Bale's pace, as ever, is worrying Sagna and the Welshman's cross can't be converted by the onrushing Kranjcar.

18 min: Also this afternoon is the Steel City derby in Sheffield. Goalless in that one at half time.

15 min: Van Persie misses a sitter. You don't say that often. A bit of pinball in the box results in an six-yard opening for the Dutchman, who's usually assassin-like in front of goal. His right-foot volley goes inches wide though.

14 min: Spurs earn a free kick on the edge of the box and take it quickly but Adebayor can't reach the cross.

10 min: Arsenal, as always, are having most of the ball but Spurs consistently look like they could score a breakaway goal.

9 min: Penalty shout for Arsenal as Kieran Gibbs falls in the area. Mike Dean makes the correct call as it was a weak claim from the left-back.

7 min: At Carrow Road Paul Scholes has given United an early lead.

4 min: GOAL! Spurs 1-0! Saha!

The visitors take an early lead. Mike Dean plays advantage from a Gunners offside and Spurs find Adebayor. Koscielny falls over and there's a massive gap through the middle for Saha. Adebayor finds him and the Frenchman's shot takes a horrible deflection off the covering Vermaelen before looping over Szczesny.

2 min: Also kicking off in the Premier League is Norwich vs. Manchester United. I'll keep you updated with action from Carrow Road.

1 min: Spurs get us underway...

0 min: The players emerge to a sun-soaked Emirates. Arsenal need to win to cement their push for Champions League football while Spurs, ten points clear of their rivals, need the three points to sustain their title challenge. Kick-off imminent.