LONDON - Arsenal's bid to reclaim the Premier League title passed a significant milestone on Saturday when a derby win over Tottenham ensured Arsene Wenger's men will spend Christmas on top of the table.

Arsenal's striker Nicklas Bendtner(L) scores the winning goal during the Premiership match against Spurs at the Emirates Stadium. Bendtner's late goal secured a precious 2-1 victory over Tottenham. [Agencies] On a day that saw Liverpool register an impressive 4-1 win over Portsmouth at Anfield, Arsenal beat their north London neighbours 2-1 to pull four points clear of second-placed Manchester United.

Manchester United can cut Arsenal's lead back to a single point on Sunday, when the champions entertain Everton at Old Trafford.

For Tottenham, who have not beaten their neighbours since November 1999, it was another deeply frustrating derby experience, with even Wenger admitting his side had been fortunate to claim maximum points.

Robbie Keane had the chance to put the visitors in front with a 73rd-minute penalty after Dimitar Berbatov had cancelled out Emanuel Adebayor's well-taken opener for Arsenal.

But the Spurs captain's spot-kick was saved by Manuel Almunia and Arsenal extracted maximum advantage from that reprieve when, three minutes later, substitute Nicklas Bendtner rose unchallenged to head the winner from a Cesc Fabregas corner.

"We had some luck," Wenger confessed. "Almunia saved the penalty and that was the turning point."

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