Arsenal 4
Tottenham 4

From rudderless Spurs to revitalised Spurs. The spirit at Tottenham has been transformed in four days - and it is all down to one man, Harry Redknapp.

Whoever Harry's scriptwriter is, he doesn't get paid enough. The plot of last night's north London derby had it all an early moment of pure inspiration, several desperate errors of judgement, a team down and out before a killer final twist that nobody could predict.

It would have been one thing for Tottenham to come to the Emirates Stadium and produce a steely display that earned a 0-0 draw or ended in gallant failure.

But to defend so poorly and yet come from 3-1 and 4-2 down to earn an unlikely point showed a change in self-belief and character that reflects as well on Redknapp as it does badly on his predecessor Juande Ramos.

For the 61-year-old former Bournemouth, West Ham, Southampton and Portsmouth manager has not made wholesale changes, aside from deploying Luka Modric behind lone striker Roman Pavlyuchenko, as had been the case against Bolton on Sunday.

The visitors' defending was its now customary shambles, with a goalkeeping error, two goals conceded from set pieces and a moment of idiocy by Alan Hutton allowing the Gunners to strike.

And it would be wrong to say Tottenham peppered the Arsenal goal by way of retaliation because for long spells they did not see the ball - the home side had 65 per cent possession - and Pavlyuchenko cut a lone figure as Spurs defended deeper and deeper in the face of increasing pressure.

What we witnessed, in fact, was a remarkable resilience and togetherness to dig out a result when all seemed lost in a way that never seemed possible under Ramos, at least this season.

All four of Spurs' goals came either directly or indirectly from long-range shots. The confidence to try their luck from distance undoubtedly came by way of their manager's inspiration and manifested itself most magnificently in David Bentley's stunning 39-yard strike after 13 minutes.

"I said to them I'd work on their confidence," said Redknapp. "Everything in life comes down to confidence. David (Bentley) is a fantastic talent and he's enjoying his football.

"I've tried to make them believe in themselves. There's ability in the squad. We'll keep going. It's going to be a long season, but there was a great atmosphere in that dressing room."

The fact that Redknapp sat back during the match and afforded his players the trust to express themselves was striking.It was a feature of Hull's win at the Emirates last month that Tigers manager Phil Brown spent virtually the entire game in the technical area, kicking every ball with his players and helping to foster the belief they could record an unlikely win.

Last night, Redknapp spent the majority of the match sat firmly in his seat as is his style while it was opposite number Arsene Wenger who stood, arms folded, next to the pitch compelling his side to play with more conviction and authority.

Time and again the Frenchman gestured, arms outstretched in frustration, as his players produced an increasingly desperate response to the crowd's demands for an equaliser.

Even when it came courtesy of both a fine Mikael Silvestre header from Robin van Persie's corner and poor goalkeeping on Heurelho Gomes' part in equal measure Wenger remained unmoved.

Similarly, captain William Gallas's header from Van Persie's delivery that put the Gunners ahead, barely a minute after the interval, did not ease his manager's disposition nor did Emmanuel Adebayor's close-range third.

It was a curious and rare display of sustained agitation from Wenger, particularly at home, that was further exacerbated by substitute Darren Bent tucking home a rebound after Tom Huddlestone had let fly from distance. After Van Persie had appeared to make the game safe at 4-2, Jermaine Jenas and then Aaron Lennon realised Wenger's worst fears to suddenly leave Redknapp as the last manager standing, almost bursting with pride.

"I am angry," said Wenger. "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."

That damage must be minimised quickly because the manner of this draw throwing away a lead at the death bears more than a passing resemblance to the 2-2 draw with Birmingham in February that marked the beginning of the end of Arsenal's last League title bid.

Coupled with Eduardo's injury, that result became a noose around the necks of the players with which they strangled themselves as the season reached its climax.

Wenger's priority now is to stop a repeat. "It's difficult because the players are very, very disappointed," he said.

"It's my job to raise them. It's my job to ensure there's no resentment against the mistakes we made in the team.

"All our opponents and title contenders won. With the game we produced tonight, we should have won."

Although Wenger rather churlishly insisted "with two minutes to go, there was no Harry Redknapp factor - it's very difficult to prove scientifically", last night belonged to the former Portsmouth boss.

Jonathan Woodgate's belief that Spurs had become rudderless under Ramos seems something of a distant memory now.

There is clearly an awful lot of work to do on the training ground, particularly defensively, but Redknapp was moved sufficiently to bullishly declare: "Bring on Liverpool. We'll give them a good go on Saturday."

After this utterly enthralling first instalment of Redknapp's latest odyssey, Rafael Benitez could be forgiven for dreading the sequel.