There is something they call football intelligence, or if you like, possession of a football brain. And then there is normal bog standard intelligence. There are debates whether or not Emmanuel Eboue has the former, but after his display in the north London derby there is no question of him having the latter. However, there may be an argument that his dismissal in the first half actually improved his team’s chances of a result. The player is a liability. Having been booked stupidly for dissent, the last thing you do is something as petty as the tripping up of Modric. But there was no thought process at work here. Just plain stupidity. As demonstrated with the needless and ineffectual push that ruled out his goal. Although he made little impact on Woodgate, the sight of his hand being raised gave the referee the opportunity to blow for a foul as the Spurs centre-back went colliding into Adebayor’s legs. Stupid, stupid, stupid.

So Arsenal achieved as good a result as could be hoped for remembering the current poverty of their play. Even Adebayor seemed to be making an effort before his hamstring went. The Gunners needed to win the game at the kick-off, but there was relief at the final whistle with a point. Yes, near the death, the amount of space on the pitch meant there were chances to win, but let’s face it, over the course of the 90 minutes Spurs had far more of those and much better ones.

If you want a summary of the state we’re in, you only have to remember that the central midfield was over-run by a combination of Wilson Palacios and Jermaine Jenas. These are not times we will remember fondly. Even when it was still eleven v eleven, I was thinking, there is no authority in this team, and once again my thoughts went back to the days of Patrick Vieira, who so often used to imperiously boss this fixture. Those days are gone, it’s time to move on, but right now, it’s difficult until the post-Vieira Arsenal actually win something.

On the bright side, it is now almost a decade since Arsenal last suffered a league defeat by their neighbours. And that is astonishing, especially as the line-up this time was the weakest sent out since the reserves who played five days before the 1993 FA Cup Final. And no small thanks are due to Bacary Sagna for that. The player worked like a Trojan, both before and after the dismissal of the player in front of him. That Wenger was able to swap Bendtner for Adebayor and leave the team with two forwards is testament to the abilities of the right back. Sky gave Palacios the man of the match award, but in truth there was no contest. Sagna was exceptional.

Creatively, there is a long way to go, and it must be hoped that the players raise their game to ensure that when Arshavin is introduced, his contribution is not wasted. He cannot win matches on his own, but can form part of a formidable attack if others operate on his wavelength and play with intelligence and the first touch their wages justify. Arsenal were crying out for him until reduced to ten men, when any hope of seeing the number 23 for the final stages of the game went out of the window.

The gap between the Gunners and Villa is now wide enough for Chelsea to have filled it, and Arsenal might now start thinking about trying to get into a top four that includes Villa. The draw was two points dropped on Villa, but at least none on Chelsea. Critically, the defence has another clean sheet under its belt. How they managed that I do not know, but it is a good habit, however achieved, and I am not going to be critical of any defensive player given the circumstances of Sunday's match.

However, it’s three league draws in a row, with an element of good fortune in the last two games. Six points the team failed to collect, but it could so easily have been eight. I think fans are clinging on in hope now, and that hope takes the form of Arshavin and the return of injured players that we hope can inspire. Arsenal need something to inspire them for sure. But still, every cloud has a silver lining. Imagine how bad we’d be feeling if Spurs had won the derby, as frankly, they should have. Imagine how frustrated their fans are.

Let’s keep the unbeaten run going and wait for an improvement in the quality of the play, which might come with the new and returning players. Arsenal were up against it at the Lane. Backs to the wall stuff, and came through.

That is the agenda of what remains of Arsenal’s season. Let’s hope they give us reason to be thankful by the end of it. The next five league outings are against Sunderland, Fulham, West Brom, Blackburn and Newcastle. There are fifteen points going there. It’s time Wenger’s team started winning games, as opposed to not losing them.

Footnote – Some fans paid less than £40 for their tickets, some paid nearer £50 – for the same view. AISA comments on the situation on their new upgraded website, which I promised a plug for. Job done.