Arsenal 2 Tottenham 0

	Thierry Henry of Arsenal holds off Alton Thelwell of Spurs (Shaun Botterill/Allsport)

Hoddle watched grimly from the Highbury directors' box and on Monday he starts the seemingly futile task of attempting to make this Tottenham side competitive by next weekend for their FA Cup semi-final against Arsenal at Old Trafford.

It appears he relishes the challenge. As the Highbury crowd vehemently booed his appearance on the giant video screens at the final whistle on Saturday, Hoddle appeared to cup his hand to his ear and encourage the abuse.

He is nothing if not brave. Tottenham's surrender on Saturday was meek and mild.

A Luke Young strike in the second half and a Simon Davies effort in the 31st minute were the only occasions when the Tottenham fans were required to jump from their seats, other than the obligatory bout of crowd trouble as the match drew to a close.

In mitigation, temporary coach David Pleat would point out that Tottenham had 10 first-team players out injured.

More than half an eye was cast upon next weekend's clash, with the likes of Sol Campbell and Sergei Rebrov not being risked for yesterday's encounter after picking up injuries while on international duty last week.

Nevertheless, Tottenham barely showed for this match.

A goalless draw at Highbury is celebrated long and hard down at White Hart Lane these days and Tottenham never rose above those modest aspirations.

For long periods Arsenal looked as if they were conducting one of their training-ground exercises, when the attackers take on the defence. Tottenham looked as though they had been ordered to remain resolutely in their half and not to dare venture out and attack.

The legacy of George Graham takes some time to erode, as Arsenal fans will themselves testify. Arsenal, however, cannot afford to be too smug as they approach a more serious game next week.

With so much possession, any half-decent side would have settled into a comfortable lead by half-time. But wave after wave of Arsenal attacks foundered on unconvincing finishing or poor delivery of the final ball.

Thierry Henry came closest and he can be spared some of the blame for his chance on seven minutes, which was a creative triumph even if he lacked any luck at the finish.

He turned poor Gary Doherty inside out, landing the Tottenham defender on his backside before turning inside to unleash a fierce shot that rebounded off the post and careered across the goal-line before bouncing wide.

Spurs goalkeeper Neil Sullivan was well beaten but it was the first and last time in the opening 45 minutes that he was. The Scotland international was the only truly outstanding Tottenham player on display. He was the last line of defence from a succession of Frenchmen.

Henry, Robert Pires and Sylvain Wiltord all had good reason to curse him. Pires should have scored in the 30th minute after turning Steffen Iversen, but he hesitated over his shot and allowed Sullivan to save.

Wiltord had a succession of chances. Instead of coolly taking one, he discovered ever more fanciful ways to avoid hitting the target. He scooped a shot over in the 54th minute, saw a shot deflected away just before the hour and was then denied by the sharp reactions of Sullivan from close range in the 64th.

The final indignity came a few minutes later. Henry broke clean through with Wiltord closing down on goal. A simple pass was all it needed for Arsenal to take the lead, but somehow Henry allowed Chris Perry to intercept and the moment was lost.

The French revolution at Arsenal had seemingly lost its fire power.

Another scoreless draw loomed, but the inspiration came from an unlikely source. Pires, who tends to hide away on combative occasions such as these, was the man who delivered the blessed relief in the 71st minute.

Picking up the ball on the edge of the area, he swerved inside and unleashed a superb shot from 15 yards. Sullivan, finally, was beaten and not before time.

It simply remained for Arsenal to finish the game off and give the score-line the convincing gloss it deserved. Eventually Henry obliged, redeeming himself for his earlier misses.

As he advanced through the Spurs defence, only Perry remained. He feinted one way, then the other and Perry was clueless. Henry was through and he finished coolly with two minutes remaining to secure the game.

The cheers were all for Arsenal, the swagger and the 'push-and-run' football entirely from the team in red. Just to twist the knife, they chanted 'Boring, boring Tottenham' at this ultra-defensive side.