Arsenal 2 Tottenham 1:Arsenal may top the table but they are really still in the midst of a long, tough climb. The players are trying to haul themselves to the eminence last attained when the club were the champions of 2004. It is absorbing to watch this emerging squad strive to cope with their own ambitions.

Arsène Wenger's side are acclaimed for flowing football, but in the past two weekends they have scored winners from set-pieces. Mistakes by the visitors at corner kicks were punished as, first, a William Gallas header beat Chelsea and, now, another from Nicklas Bendtner has defeated Tottenham.

Wenger observes this is a natural part of the repertoire, with tall men such as Emmanuel Adebayor and Bendtner on the scene.

On Saturday, the latter had come off the bench to score in the 76th minute and the winner was a landmark for the 19-year-old Dane. Bendtner had been chivvying the kit man, Vic Akers, to get him on before the corner was taken, promising he would score.

The leap and header were impressive, but even more noteworthy was the ease with which he darted away from Tom Huddlestone to connect with Cesc Fàbregas's delivery. Wenger reasoned Arsenal had capitalised on the "fraction of a second" in which the visitors failed to adjust their man-to-man marking to deal with Bendtner's introduction.

For Spurs coach Juande Ramos it was an intolerable blunder.

Nonetheless, he is bringing a more assiduous Tottenham into existence. The 21-year-old Jamie O'Hara, once on Arsenal's books, added poise and solidity to the midfield in his first start, and the visitors looked a match for the league leaders. Having fallen 1-0 behind, Tottenham pursued the equaliser with conviction.

Robbie Keane ought to have found the net instead of the bar from an Aaron Lennon cross, but almost immediately Tottenham pulled level. Keane backheeled and Dimitar Berbatov finished with power after 66 minutes.

Ramos's team might have gone on to notch an exceedingly rare victory over Wenger's Arsenal.

There were a few cogent appeals for a penalty and referee Rob Styles granted one for Kolo Toure's challenge on Berbatov. Keane, a captain newly returned from suspension, is reliable from the spot but his effort here was too gentle and rose sufficiently for Manuel Almunia to save in the 72nd minute. Bendtner's goal soon doubled the punishment.

Arsenal's goalkeeper has his critics within the club. The deposed Jens Lehmann last week claimed he stuffs his hands in his pockets and bunches them in frustration when watching Almunia because he believes the latter is not held to a high standard by the manager. In public, Wenger is tolerant of this backbiting. He was asked how his two goalkeepers got along. "They go on holiday together next week," he jested.

Lehmann has announced he is considering an offer from Wolfsburg in his native Germany. The outspoken goalkeeper lost his place to Almunia, and he may move when the January transfer window opens. "I should know more in a week so that I can make a decision in the first days of the new year," he said.

Of the 20 goalkeepers picked in the Premier League over the weekend, Almunia was one of just three who has never been capped. "He came here without a CV," said Wenger. "I knew he was good but how can he be Arsenal's keeper? Only by playing. He has never before played for a big club and he made mistakes, but he has gained confidence and calmness. He is a good keeper."

The team as a whole is living up to its status. In each of the past three seasons the club heading the table at Christmas has gone on to take the title and Arsenal have hopes of extending the sequence. Any misgivings concern the depth of the squad, and Toure will be missed when he goes to the African Cup of Nations next month. Nonetheless, Arsenal have been good at problem-solving.

Saturday's difficulty was the humdrum tone of the match, which the side transcended with Tomas Rosicky's dart, Fàbregas's backheel and Adebayor's composed shot for the opener.