Arsenal vs Spurs betting tips

Things were looking mighty good for Martin Jol's Spurs at half time during the first leg of their semi-final Carling Cup clash with arch enemies Arsenal at White Hart Lane where the first 45 minutes yielded two goals for the home side and precious little for the visitors. However, after the interval the Lillywhites did what you can't do when playing Arsenal - they gave the young guns time on the ball and defended too deep. As such, their lead was relinquished courtesy of a Julio Baptista brace, which now leaves Spurs facing a mountain to climb at the Emirates on Wednesday evening in the second leg. Indeed, Tottenham haven't beaten the Gunners in an away fixture since 1993 and their first sample of football at Arsenal's new home, which was in the Premiership on December 2, will have left a bitter aftertaste, as they were given a three-goal thumping. Arsene Wenger's charges have yet to suffer a reverse at the Emirates and, as they proved in their FA Cup 4th round encounter with Bolton on Sunday when drawing 1-1, it's a record that will take some breaking. Although they will miss the pace of Eboue down the right flank and Hleb's creativity in this match, the return of Gilberto in the middle of the park will serve as a timely boost. Spurs' form away from home in the league doesn't augur well at all. They won just one of their 12 matches on the road and have scored just eight times in the dozen games in question. From somewhere, somehow, they need to score in this game as Arsenal's two away goals mean puts them in the strong position. But it is this pressure that rests on Spurs' shoulders that will ultimately be their downfall, and see Arsenal glide into the final where they will meet Chelsea. The visitors have to go all out to win this match and their inevitable emphasis on attack will leave them vulnerable to Arsenal's unrivalled counter-attacking ability. Arsenal possess so much pace within their squad and, with Spurs sorely missing key central defender Ledley King, I can see Wednesday evening ending up as one which Spurs will want to forget. Their chance will come in the first half, as the Gunners have a propensity to take a while to warm to their task judged on recent matches. But Jol's men keep failing to take their chances on rival turf - they've only scored more than one goal in any one Premiership fixture away from 'The Lane' this season - and, facing a side that average 2.5 goals per game at home in the league this season, the odds are stacked heavily against them. To my mind, the 5/2 Paddy Power are offering about Arsenal in the to win to nil market makes plenty of appeal. Even if Wenger once again rests a number of key players, the youngsters coming through the ranks at Arsenal are coming of age at a rate of knots. Julio 'The Beast' Baptista will once again be a key man in the likely absence of Thierry Henry and Emmanuel Adebayor. If 'The Beast' is hungry - and we are talking about a player who has scored six times in the last two matches his team have played in this tournament - then Dawson and Gardner could have their work cut out at the heart of Spurs' defence. Verdict - 2pts Arsenal to win to nil @ 5/2 (Paddy Power)