Juande Ramos hailed a “perfect” performance from his players as Tottenham Hotspur reached their first cup final in six years last night courtesy of a thrilling 5-1 win over Arsenal, whose first defeat to their North London rivals since the closing weeks of the last century was compounded by an embarrassing on-field bust-up between Emmanuel Adebayor and Nicklas Bendtner.

The Danish striker ended with a bloodied nose after a second-half clash with Adebayor, who had to be restrained by Bacary Sagna and Eduardo da Silva as Arsenal’s disappointment at a 6-2 aggregate defeat spilt over into ill-temper. William Gallas, the Arsenal captain, also stepped into the fray.

It seemed typical of Tottenham’s misfortune that even the end of a 21-match winless streak against their neighbours should be overshadowed by the behaviour of Arsenal’s players, but the ecstatic home fans, following the example of Prince by partying like it was 1999 — the last time they beat Arsenal or won a trophy — appeared unconcerned.

Ramos was also unperturbed as he continued a remarkable unbeaten run in cup-ties stretching back more than two years and promised greater glories to come. The Spaniard won the previous three cup competitions he participated in with Seville — two Uefa Cups and a Copa Del Rey — and is confident of adding a first for Tottenham in the final at Wembley on February 24 against Everton or Chelsea, who play tonight.

“I want to win everything, whether it’s a cup competition, the Premier League or the Uefa Cup,” Ramos said after goals from Jermaine Jenas, Robbie Keane, Aaron Lennon, Steed Malbranque and a own goal by Bendtner gave Tottenham their biggest win over Arsenal since 1983. “It’s the best performance since I came here and in order to beat a team like Arsenal you have to play well.

“We didn’t make mistakes and were perfect in all areas of the team. The effort that the players have put in to reach this final means they are the architects of this victory.”

Tottenham’s progress since Ramos took charge of a fourth-round tie in this competition, against Blackpool in October, has been startling, though the head coach preferred to give the credit to his players. “It’s been a big change, but without the collaboration of the footballers themselves this would have been impossible,” he said.

“It makes me tremendously happy that the fans are happy with my work and with the team, but the architects of this were the footballers themselves. They’re the people putting in the effort on the pitch.”

Arsène Wenger, the Arsenal manager, claimed to have no knowledge of the row between his players, though he will return to an unhappy training ground today hoping to heal the wounds that could jeopardise their challenge for the Barclays Premier League title. Howard Webb, the referee, was forced to intervene during the incident involving Bendtner while Adebayor was physically prevented from following the young striker down the tunnel after the final whistle by a member of Arsenal’s back-room staff.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Wenger said. “It is a disappointment because we lost, of course. I feel that everything went against us tonight. The score is very brutal but doesn’t reflect what I’ve seen on the pitch. The first shot on goal was a goal. The second was an own goal. The third was straight after half-time. After that, the game was over and they could focus on defending well and catching us on the break.

“When you’re a football player you have to deal with disappointments. It’s how you respond and how you deal with it.”

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