Bless them, they talk a good game. Most would call it delusions of grandeur, and they would be right, but you have to hand it to Spurs' peerless abilities when it comes to delusional, ill-founded self-aggrandisement. OK, Robbie Keane merely suggested the quality of the Spurs bench was better than ours but the message was clear: Arsenal need to fear Tottenham.

Cue much smirking, with a troubling acceptance that they're no longer completely terrible, but as the dust settles on a very satisfying Saturday, what better moment to take a thoroughly impartial, and in-no-way tainted by the intoxication of a derby victory, look at how superior we are, exactly.

Goalkeeper

To suggest that the Arsenal are settled in this area would be to indulge in fantasism on the same level as Spurs fans. Almunia was among our best players last year but he hadn't been able to displace a talented but by no means flawless understudy to the understudy until today. Who knows, maybe he'll gain confidence and kick on but it wouldn't be a huge shock to see a new face in nets come February. But is Gomes any better? Undoubtedly he's not the calamitous goalie that some believe but his performance against Arsenal was his game in perfect microcosm: outstanding reflexes undone by dodgy technique and a highly questionable concentration span.

VERDICT: I'd give the Spurs man the edge here simply because he alternates, within games, between outstandingly good and outstandingly bad, which is at least more exciting than not quite good enough.

Defence

Clichy has had a very iffy 2009, there's no denying it, but he possess more talent in his dandruff than Assou-Ekotto on his best day. His biggest fault is trying too hard – he often gets caught out positionally when going for interceptions that aren't there – and as he gets older that will right itself. Sagna has been equally off-colour, and Corluka is a decent player, but the Arsenal number 3 is showing signs of coming back into form at both ends of the park, and when he's at his best, there's no better right back in the country. The Gallas and Vermaelen partnership is arguably the happiest story of the season so far for us, and despite Toure's enthusiasm and power it's nice to see a centre back who looks like he knows exactly what he's doing. King is an excellent player, and Bassong has shown a lot of promise but when you factor in what a goal threat our boys present you're left with a clean sweep.

VERDICT: Arsenal all the way. That might seem strange considering our habit of giving goals and leads away but that's as much to do with the rest of the team.

Midfield

We've got Cesc Fabregas, you've got Jermaine Jenas.

Nuff said, but two more comments. Firstly, if Alex Song were to play in a more defensive system where his fellow centre mids were required to hustle, tackle and protect then we'd be talking about the Young Player of the Year. A lot of people were sad to see a Wenger player in Palacios slip through the net, but now a lot more are dreading Song's international commitments in January. Secondly, David Bentley is a cocky waster with a very stupid face (I'm still buzzing!).

VERDICT: Spurs, mwah ha ha ha ha.

Attack

Spurs, in their defence, have got a handy group of forwards, with Defoe a superb finisher and Peter Crouch being the only likeable thing about Tottenham since Christian Gross, but once again there's no competition. There's no denying that Torres and Drogba are very, very talented, but what does Robin van Persie have to do to be considered their equal? He's leading the line like he's been doing it for years and has a telepathic connection with Cesc. I seem to remember another Dutch genius with a nasty side that once played for the club...

VERDICT: Arsenal. I honestly think we'd come out on top against any side other than Barca or Real, and that's with Arshavin still not looking totally happy and the right wing position waiting for Walcott or Rosicky to return.

Bench

The area that sparked the debate. Once again, in goal Spurs look stronger. Self-imposed retirement halfway through a career has done for Cudicini as an absolute top class keeper but he's still a better player than our youngsters (and I know he wasn't on the bench on Saturday). I'd take Woodgate over Senderos too, when he's fit. Other than that, I still think there's a big gap. Spurs brought on Hutton, Pavlyuchenko and Bale (a player whose only outstanding features are his likeness to a cartoon monkey and the ridiculous hype around him) while we brought on Eboue, a better right back, Eduardo, a much better forward, and Ramsey, a real wunderkind. We also left Nasri and England's next left-back on the bench.

VERDICT: Defensively, Spurs but overall, it's the Arsenal again.

Treatment Room

It's worth recognising that neither side had their best eleven out there. Aaron Lennon and Luka Modric made Spurs tick at the start of the season, so their absence today was significant, especially when you consider, contentedly, how poor Bentley was. But the talent we weren't able to call on is frightening. Walcott and Rosicky are sensational players and Denilson is a better box to box player than Diaby. I just wish they weren't so injury prone. Unquestionably both sides were weakened, but it's a testament to our superior depth that Spurs clearly felt the absences more.