Arsenal ruthlessly exploited Emmanuel Adebayor’s moment of madness to come from behind and beat Tottenham Hotspur 5-2 in another eventful north London derby on Saturday.
Adebayor, who had given Spurs a 10th-minute lead at the Emirates Stadium in the English Premier League’s early kickoff, was sent off for a two-footed challenge on Santi Cazorla seven minutes later, and the visitors never recovered.
Germany defender Per Mertesacker equalised for Arsenal with a powerful header after 24 minutes, and Arsene Wenger’s side scored twice in the last three minutes of the first half – through Lukas Podolski and Olivier Giroud – to take control.
Spaniard Cazorla made it four from Podolski’s cross on the hour, and although Gareth Bale’s right-foot shot from the edge of the area gave Spurs a little hope, Theo Walcott completed the scoring from close range in injury time.
