Martin Jol made three changes, Didier Zokora in for the injured Teemu Tainio, Benoit Assou-Ekotto replaced Young-Pyo Lee and Aaron Lennon got the nod over Hossam Ghaly.
The game got off to a flier – Dimitar Berbatov linked up very nicely with Jermain Defoe before shooting wide. Then he scored to put Spurs in front but while scoring he sustained a groin injury. Lennon and then Steed Malbranque both had pops at goal, then just as the clock approached the 20th minute mark Spurs were 2-0 ahead.
Up to half-time the game was contested like a typical north London derby, which spilled into the second period. Lennon continued to enjoy himself on the right wing and a cross for Malbranque nearly led to a third goal for the home side.
Arsenal made a couple of changes, Alexander Hleb and Emmanuel Eboue both coming on. Slowly they came into the game and following a Cesc Fabregas free-kick which Paul Robinson fumbled, Michael Dawson cleared the danger off the goal line.
Julio Baptista pulled a goal back for the visitors from an Eboue cross in the 63rd minute. Lennon was still causing problems at the other end, but Arsenal then pulled level. Defoe missed a good opportunity after that, Manuel Almunia denying him, before Mido came on his place for the last ten minutes.
Martin Jol: "We were all very disappointed because we were 2-0 up, but we only had ourselves to blame."
"The first 25 minutes was outstanding and a lot of that had to do with Dimitar Berbatov so it didn't help that he had to go off but it was still 2-0 to us. Berbatov's problem was his groin. He scored and then came to the touchline and told us he had a minor problem."
"We wanted to score a third but we didn't manage to do that, dropped off, looked tired and they looked sharp and took control of the game in the second half.
"There was only one solution and we said at half-time that we had to keep the ball but we couldn't keep it and they kept coming back.
"The first goal was a ricochet and that was unfortunate. We gave the initiative to them and the control of the game to them."
"When we kept the ball we ended up in their half with the likes of Aaron Lennon and we had a chance to win the game late on, but they did as well through Walcott."
Paul Robinson: "We were like a different team in each half. We were fantastic in the first half-hour and we came in at half-time very pleased, stressed that we shouldn't sit off and continue doing what we were doing but it worked out exactly the opposite.
"We knew they would come at us in the second half, we knew what to expect and were ready for it but we didn't put into practice what we wanted to do.
Ledley King: "After starting the game so brightly and getting ourselves into a 2-0 lead, to nick another one and keep a clean sheet would have been the ideal situation.
"Fair play to Arsenal though, we couldn't get hold of the ball in the second half. They kept coming at us and the pressure told in the end.
"Finishing 2-2 is not a great result for us, but the players out there were the ones who have played the majority of the season, whereas the Arsenal players had not played so many games and looked fresher in the second half.
"It was obviously a disappointing end to the game for us.
Source: TottenhamHotspur.com