Spurs drop Arsenal for first time in 11 years

LONDON (AP) -- Arsenal missed the chance to move up to second place in the Premier League on Wednesday when it lost 2-1 at Tottenham, its first league defeat to its north London rival in 11 years.

Debut-making teenager Danny Rose opened the scoring in the 10th minute with a fierce 30-meter (yard) volley with his unfavored left foot and Spurs withstood sustained pressure before Gareth Bale doubled the advantage two minutes into the second half.

Nicklas Bendtner scored for Arsenal with five minutes remaining but Tottenham held on to go within a point of fourth-place Manchester City, which occupies the last of the Champions League qualifying positions.

The Gunners stayed third, six points behind leader Chelsea and two behind defending champion Manchester United.

Tottenham is now five points ahead of sixth-place Liverpool and six clear of Aston Villa, which drew 2-2 with visiting Everton.

Last-place Portsmouth, which is already relegated, drew 0-0 at Wigan in Wednesday's other match.

Rose, an attacking midfielder, only played 45 minutes before he was replaced by the more experienced David Bentley at halftime. But he made his time on the field count as he started Tottenham on the way to only a second Premier League win over Arsenal since Arsene Wenger became manager in 1996.

Arsenal dominated the opening exchanges with its usual slick passing and Spurs defender Michael Dawson blocked an on-target shot from Tomas Rosicky before Tottenham won a corner on the right.

Goalkeeper Manuel Almunia punched the ball clear but the 19-year-old Rose, whose only previous start for Spurs was in the fourth round of this season's FA Cup, met the ball on the left and smashed it back over the flailing Almunia into goal.

Former Spurs captain Sol Campbell was jeered raucously every time he touched the ball, but his assured performance at the heart of Arsenal's defense meant the Gunners were largely unaffected by the injury-enforced substitution of Thomas Vermaelen in the 18th minute.

Bendtner, Rosicky and Gael Clichy all had chances for Arsenal before halftime but the Gunners fell further behind from almost the first attack of the second half.

Jermain Defoe held off Campbell and Emmanuel Eboue to spin 30 meters (yards) from goal and slip a diagonal pass through the defense to Bale, who had drifted out of position and into the area behind substitute Mikael Silvestre.

Bale let the perfectly weighted pass run across Silvestre and tapped it in at the far post from close range.

Arsenal introduced Theo Walcott and Robin van Persie in attacking substitutions, giving Van Persie his first action after five months out injured, and the pair immediately improved their team.

Van Persie almost scored with a volley and then a curling free kick in the last 10 minutes but goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes kept both chances out with one-handed saves before making a point-blank stop from Campbell's header.

Bendtner slid in to touch in Walcott's right-wing cross but Tottenham held on for a first league win over Arsenal since a 2-1 at White Hart Lane in November 1999.

Spurs' only win over Arsenal in that time was a 5-1 victory at the same venue in the 2008 League Cup semifinals.

Australia midfielder Tim Cahill scored both Everton's goals at Villa Park and his team looked to be on course for a victory that would have taken it to within a point of Villa, but Everton defender Phil Jagielka scored an injury-time own-goal.

Cahill had put Everton back in front after Gabriel Agbonlahor's 72nd-minute equalizer when Jagielka, who missed the first seven months of the season because of injury, deflected Ashley Young's left-wing cross past goalkeeper Tim Howard.