So the agony continues. Having fallen victim to the Arsenal first team, Juande Ramos has now been mugged by the reserves. A motley collection of wannabes and understudies, plus the odd ageing hero, stole victory from under his nose last night, the Tottenham Hotspur head coach reduced to an impotent, frustrated figure on the touchline, the seventh of his kind to make the short trip across North London without success.

It was May 11, 1993 when Tottenham last won away to Arsenal, coincidentally against a much-weakened team selected to save tired legs with the FA Cup Final against Sheffield Wednesday looming. It is a sign of the times that even such a hollow victory is now beyond them, Arsène Wenger without a single first-team player — unless one includes Robin van Persie, who is still recovering from injury and appears to be some way from a Barclays Premier League start — yet with enough in the locker to hold Ramos’s full-strength XI to a draw.

Tottenham were the better side and Arsenal’s equaliser something of a fluke, but it was not so much the circumstances of the result, more the fact of it. There will never be a better night for Tottenham to win at the home of the enemy.

This says something for the spirit Wenger has built at his club, but also for the work Ramos is yet to do. When Jermain Defoe missed a sitter from a cross by Aaron Lennon at the far post with six minutes remaining, it seemed to sum up the mental frailty of the neighbours from down the Lane. By contrast, Arsenal had one good chance to level in the second half and took it, with a pinch of luck but also a lorry-load of determination.

Gilberto Silva, the sole experienced figure in Arsenal’s starting line-up and surprisingly one of its least effective players, struck a long pass that Eduardo da Silva flicked into the path of Theo Walcott, sprinting clear of Tottenham’s defence. The only player to keep up with him was Lee Young Pyo, but it did little good. The ball squirted up from his tackle, struck Walcott on the chest and left Radek Cerny stranded. Fortunate, yes, but a testament to Walcott’s resolve as well.

It is impossible to make an argument that, as far as the Carling Cup goes, Arsenal are in it to win it. This is the competition in which teams of the future are forged and for that reason every time a Premier League rival fails to eliminate them, it feels, not like defeat, but humiliation. Tottenham can set the record straight in two weeks at White Hart Lane, but they must overcome not just a side with little to lose but their own inferiority complex. Big claims are made for this Tottenham team, not least in the presence of a striker valued at £31 million, and pride is at stake.

Dimitar Berbatov may have spent more time moaning than scoring this season, but last night he had good reason. He played an unselfish supporting role in most of Tottenham’s best attacks, but the execution of that work was poor. Had Tottenham taken their chances, certainly those that fell in quick succession between the 34th minute and half-time, they would have won comfortably.

The cracks began to show when Berbatov found Robbie Keane, who was blocked off by Philippe Senderos, the tackle sending the ball into the path of Steed Malbranque. He had a clear shot at goal and should have done more with it, but a hasty finish sent a simple shot wide. The next minute, the trio combined to fail again. Berbatov’s pass set Keane free, skipping past the advancing Lukasz Fabianski in Arsenal’s goal, but without the room to prevent the ball rolling wide to an angle that made it impossible to shoot. Keane crossed and Malbranque missed the target at the far post as Fabianski scrambled to regain ground.

Finally, the good, old-fashioned punt upfield succeeded where the beautiful game had not, at last unlocking the Arsenal defence for Tottenham to score. Ledley King, excellent beneath the gaze of Fabio Capello, the England manager, struck a hopeful high ball that Berbatov flicked on to Keane, who was played onside by Senderos, before striding clear and squaring the ball to Jermaine Jenas, who was left with the uncomplicated task of putting it into the net.

Wenger introduced greater experience at half-time with Eduardo and Bacary Sagna joining the cause, but that is cold comfort for Tottenham. “You’ll never beat the Arsenal,” the home fans mocked and if that prediction stands in a fortnight, it may not seem like such a vainglorious boast.

Arsenal (4-4-2): L Fabianski – J Hoyte, J Djourou (sub: B Sagna, 46min), P Senderos, A Traoré – T Walcott (sub: M Randall, 90), Denilson, Gilberto Silva, A Diaby – N Bendtner, R van Persie (sub: Eduardo da Silva, 46). Substitutes not used: V Mannone, G Hoyte.

Tottenham Hotspur (4-4-2): R Cerny – P Chimbonda, M Dawson, L King, Lee Young Pyo – A Lennon, J Jenas, J O’Hara, S Malbranque (sub: K-P Boateng, 77) – D Berbatov, R Keane (sub: J Defoe, 83). Substitutes not used: P Robinson, P Stalteri, A Taarabt.

Referee: M Dean.

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