Arsenal skipper Robin van Persie has dismissed suggestions that Tottenham have leapfrogged the Gunners as the strongest team in North London, arguing that his side's 5-2 win over the Spurs on Sunday is indicative of reality.

Despite recently losing to Milan and Sunderland in matches that ended their hopes of silverware for yet another season, the Gunners bounced back strongly in the derby, coming from two goals behind to emphatically beat the third-place Spurs.

Arsenal goalkeeper Wojiech Szczesny has hailed skipper Robin van Persie as the best player in the Barclays Premier League, explaining that the Gunners have gotten used to the Dutchman netting multiple goals in almost every match.

Van Persie's goal in the 5-2 North London derby win over Tottenham Hotspur may have been the best, and also the most important goal in the match, but Szczesny joked that it was surprising to see the league's leading scorer score only once for a change.

In hindsight, there may not be too many similarities between Juventus and Arsenal. Yet, in less than three months, the Italian outfit can possibly replicate the Gunners' proudest achievement: an unbeaten season.

Currently, there are 14 matches separating Juve from that moment of glory. And as the club's wary supporters will be quick to remind, a string of draws will not be sufficient.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has once again slammed the quality of pitches at AC Milan's San Siro ground and Sunderland's Stadium of Light, suggesting that the poor surface prevented Gunners from playing their best football when silverware hopes were on the line.

The Gunners were thrashed 4-0 in Milan in the UEFA Champions League and lost 2-0 at Wearside in the FA Cup merely three days later, effectively ending the club's hopes of winning a trophy for a seventh straight year.

Tottenham Hotspur goalkeeper Brad Friedel was dumbfounded when asked to reflect on his side's humiliating 5-2 defeat to Arsenal at the Emirates yesterday.

The Spurs had taken a commanding 2-0 lead through Louis Saha and Emmanuel Adebayor (penalty) in the first half but a revival inspired by Bacary Sagna and Robin van Persie ended with a rout that also featured terrific finishing from the much-criticized Gunners such as Tomas Rosicky and Theo Walcott.

Liverpool defeated Cardiff City 3-2 on penalties, after a 2-2 post-extra time score, to lift their eighth Carling Cup title and end a six-year trophy drought in the process.

Joe Mason had given a surprise lead to a brave Cardiff side in the 19th minute, applying severe pressure on the Reds to respond.

Arsenal came from two goals behind to inflict a stunning 5-2 defeat on Tottenham Hotspur to not only triumph in the North London derby, but also provide a major push to their chances of qualifying for next season's Champions League.

A deflected early goal from Louis Saha and a successfully converted penalty from former Gunner Emmanuel Adebayor handed the Spurs a 2-0 lead that seemed to have heavily deflated the spirits at the Emirates Stadium.

It has been a fortnight since Newcastle United were spanked 5-0 by Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane and after returning to action today for the first time since that nightmare, manager Alan Pardew is determined to avoid a similar setback.

The Magpies were positioned well to get into the top four at the expense of Arsenal and Chelsea two weeks ago but the visit to North London proved to be disastrous, with the Spurs emphatically moving 10 points clear of the chasing pack in third place.

Gary Cahill is glad that Chelsea's success over his former Bolton side in the recent past will provide a psychological boost to the struggling Blues but admits that it will be strange playing against some players who he used to call teammates just two months ago.

Life at the highest level of English football has not been easy for Cahill in his first few weeks, with limited playing time and the unfamiliar pressure of winning trophies making the England international realize that there is a lot more at stake in West London.

Arsenal skipper Robin van Persie and right-back Bacary Sagna have suggested that Sunday afternoon's highly anticipated North London derby could make or break the remainder of their season, with no less than a win considered acceptable.

The Gunners have done all but win in the last few days, virtually crashing out of the UEFA Champions League and falling short in a massive FA Cup clash three days later.

At some point this season, just after Manchester City most likely outplayed your club, you must have concluded that any team regardless of how it is managed would be this successful with the kind of star power that the Citizens possess.

Well, as you may already know, there are many, many others who share this perspective when it comes to evaluating the impact of City manager Roberto Mancini.

Arsenal defenders Johan Djourou and Carl Jenkison are convinced that despite Tottenham's 10-point lead over their side thus far, the Gunners still have an opportunity to overturn the deficit and prove themselves as the best side in London.

The Gunners are currently fourth in the table, virtue of a better head-to-head record over Chelsea, who have endured an unusually disappointing campaign.

Chelsea manager Andre Villas-Boas has revealed that the club's hierarchy questioned his team selection for the 3-1 defeat away to Napoli in the Champions League on Tuesday as owner Roman Abramovich finally begins to lose patience.

The Blues have endured a horrible campaign on both the domestic and European fronts, with the league title well beyond their reach and the European dream on the verge of an end as they aim to climb the mountain in the second leg against their Italian conquerors.

FC Basel winger Xherdan Shaqiri has criticized Manchester United for lacking focus in their two matches with the Swiss side during the UEFA Champions League group stage, suggesting that the English champions' arrogance warranted an exit from the Europe's most elite club competition.

The Red Devils were sent packing after they followed up a 3-3 draw at home to Shaqiri's Basel with a 2-1 defeat at St.

Bayern Munich's struggles away from home ever since the resumption of football in Germany last month have not gone unnoticed, particularly as the Bavarian outfit slumped to a devastating 1-0 defeat at FC Basel in the UEFA Champions League last night.

Widely considered one of Europe's three best squads along with Barcelona and Real Madrid at the beginning of the season, Bayern have not been able to follow up on a promising start, with their most recent phase of patchy form causing them to drop to third in the Bundesliga.

Chelsea starlet Juan Manuel Mata has questioned the merits of Manchester United's 2008 Champions League glory, which came at his current club Chelsea's expense following a penalty shoot-out in Moscow.

Mata, then at Valencia, has revealed that he was an enthusiastic viewer throughout the thrilling 1-1 draw, which was decided by key penalty misses by John Terry and Nicolas Anelka after Petr Cech had given the Blues control of their own destiny by saving Cristiano Ronaldo's early spot-kick.

On Friday afternoon, the Montreal Impact selected United States International Eddie Johnson via the allocation process. Per MLS rules, the Impact will now move to the back of the allocation order for the next time a player enters this process.

After only an hour of being a member of the Impact, it was announced that he was traded to the Seattle Sounders in exchange for Lamar Neagle and Mike Fucito.

Bacary Sagna has admitted that his Arsenal return a few days ago has coincided with an unacceptable run of form and one that the Gunners desperately need to end if they are to avoid yet another disappointment in this weekend's North London derby against the in-form Tottenham Hotspur.

The Spurs emerged 2-1 winners at White Hart Lane thanks to goals from Rafael Van der Vaart and Kyle Walker when the two teams met earlier this season but it could be more difficult for Tottenham this time around given that they will be playing at the Emirates.

Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech wants his teammates to revive their deteriorating campaign by winning at home to Birmingham City in the FA Cup tomorrow a feat that he realizes won't be easy to accomplish.

Birmingham suffered relegation last year but the Championship outfit has managed to become somewhat of a cup specialist, claiming the Carling Cup at Arsenal's expense at Wembley 12 months ago and now looking to send another London club packing out of the FA Cup.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has provided a grim injury update ahead of this weekend's FA Cup clash with Sunderland, suggesting that Germany international defender Per Mertesacker is likely to miss the rest of the season.

Mertesacker had to be withdrawn from last weekend's Premier League match against the Black Cats at Wearside and although his replacement Aaron Ramsey quickly scored to spark the Gunners to life en route to a 2-1 win, the loss of the former Werder Bremen center-half is certainly massive.