Which was the better goal: Lampard's or Bentley's?

If he achieves nothing else during his reign as Tottenham Hotspur manager, Harry Redknapp can lay claim to masterminding one of the most remarkable comebacks in a North London derby. Spurs recovered from 3-1 and 4-2 down at the Emirates Stadium last night to draw 4-4 against Arsenal with two goals in the last five minutes, Aaron Lennon poking home the equaliser in the fourth and final minute of stoppage time.

Redknapp, who helped to inspire Spurs to their first league win of the season, over Bolton Wanderers on Sunday, marked Lennon’s strike by sprinting along the touchline. “I thought I was David Pleat [who famously ran on to the pitch to celebrate when his Luton Town side stayed up],” he said. “I’ve not had a team come back as late as that. It looked all over. It showed a lot of character that they kept going.

“I said to them I’d work on their confidence. There’s a good spirit in the club, but we’ve got to stop conceding silly goals from set plays. It’s a team with a lot of good players in it, lots of talent, but it’s a balancing act.”

Times Archive, 1984: Redknapp plots United's downfall

Harry Redknapp had planned the biggest triumph not only of his career, but also in Bournemouth's 85-year history

• Times Archive: Sport

Multimedia

• Premier League highlights

• Ahead of the game e-mail: wit and wisdom delivered direct to your inbox

Multimedia

• TheGame: debate, analysis, comment and columnists

• Fanzine fanzone: have your say

Related Links

• Spurs restore faith with thrilling fightback

• Tottenham confirm plans for new stadium

Multimedia

• Which was better: Lampard's goal or Bentley's?

• Was that the best North London derby ever?

There is no respite for Tottenham, who remain bottom of the Barclays Premier League and who entertain Liverpool on Saturday and have a home tie against Dynamo Zagreb on Thursday, when they will seek to turn around their Uefa Cup campaign after an opening defeat against Udinese.

Redknapp expects Ledley King to return for those matches after the defender was rested last night because of a knee injury. Off the pitch, the club will announce strong financial results today and plans for a new stadium adjacent to White Hart Lane. “Bring on Liverpool. We’ll give them a good go,” Redknapp said.

David Bentley began a remarkable night with a delicious lob from 40 yards. It was a goal reminiscent of the one scored by Nayim, the former Spurs midfield player, from the halfway line against Arsenal for Real Zaragoza in the Cup Winners’ Cup final in 1995. “I feel like superman, I could fly home,” Bentley said.

Mikaël Silvestre cancelled out Bentley’s opener and Arsenal led 3-1 with more than an hour gone. Darren Bent and Robin van Persie then traded goals before a brilliant shot by Jermaine Jenas gave Spurs hope in the 89th minute, Lennon sparking wild celebrations among visiting fans when he pounced after Luka Modric’s shot came back off a post.

Arsène Wenger, the Arsenal manager, blamed his side for failing to kill off the match. “We were really superior and produced the game we wanted,” he said. “We were really outstanding. The only down side is we didn’t win. That was down a little bit to a lack of maturity. We were too cautious rather than scoring number five or six.

"I am angry. We have to look at ourselves and improve. The players are very down. We were two levels above Tottenham and they were there for the taking. It was damaging."

“The players are deflated. It’s my job to raise them and ensure there’s no resentment against the mistakes we made in the team. With the game we produced tonight, we should have won. With two minutes to go there was no Harry Redknapp factor. It’s very difficult to prove scientifically why that happened.” Wenger agreed his side were naive. "Yes. The are young and they need to be guided"

Liverpool stay top after Steven Gerrard’s penalty proved enough to see off Portsmouth — managed by Tony Adams, Redknapp’s successor — at Anfield, while Hull City were brought down to earth as Chelsea won 3-0 at the KC Stadium. Aston Villa moved into fourth place, edging past Blackburn Rovers 3-2, and Cristiano Ronaldo scored both Manchester United goals in a 2-0 win over West Ham United at Old Trafford.