It is deadline day, but for all the papers trying to hype it up, very little is happening for the top clubs, with only the lower end Premiership teams trying desperately to make some quick fix signings.

It looks like Benjani might be playing against us for City at the weekend, a surprising move given that Pompey are quite cash-rich, but then rumours are that Defoe might be moving back to the south coast to replace him. Meanwhile, Kieran Gibbs has joined Norwich on loan.

Despite wins for United and Chelsea last night, it has been another good week for us, our 3-0 victory over Newcastle pushing us closer in goal difference to United and reducing the time Chelsea have left to catch us.

This weekend could be interesting, with all three playing away to decent opposition, with us perhaps in the best position playing a City side short of form. Elsewhere, we're hoping for Spurs and Pompey to pull something out of the bag.

In site news, Groan's move is now pretty imminent, but I'll let you know when it happens. The new site is so much nicer, believe me.

And that's about it. I'm off to feign some interest in the transfer window.

Fifteen potential opponents, only five Premiership teams amongst them. So it was almost inevitable that not only would we be away from home, it would be against one of them. While Liverpool and Chelsea both got home draws against smaller sides, we have to travel to Old Trafford in a match that the BBC, with first choice of tie, must be in dreamland about.

For us, it's an absolute nightmare, especially coming only a few days before the tie with AC Milan. Admittedly, it's not that great a draw for United either, but at least they're at home. Both sides will be desperate to avoid a replay so expect an open game.

I suspect Wenger would've rested a few stars in the next round, an action Ferguson probably would've been tempted to make as well, but with psychological advantages potentially so crucial for the league battles, both teams will be taking this one extremely seriously. Although it's about the worst draw possible, it should be fun.

Elsewhere, various reports are suggesting that we're trying to pinch Jonathan Woodgate from under the noses of Spurs, although it does seems a little far fetched as he isn't the sort of player Wenger often goes for, especially given his injury record. Undoubtedly a superb defender when fit, I'd still be very surprised if this one happened.

Note: Wenger has now denied the link, claiming the whole story to be a lie. Good old journalists.

Sky are also linking us with yet another young keeper, Piet Velthuizen, but to be honest I've stopped given their reports any credence unless they have quotes from our side. If we signed every 'starlet' Sky link us with, we'd have a squad of two hundred.

Wenger said we'd sign no-one, and I believe him.

Arsenal 3 (Adebayor 51, 83, Butt og 89) Newcastle 0

What were we so worried about? After a first half display that lacked a lot of cohesion, and in which Newcastle admittedly caused a few problems without creating much in the way of clear cut chances, the second half was completely one sided, and Arsenal strolled through to round five.

Early on, Rosicky did what Rosicky always does - got injured just as he was getting into some kind of form, and was replaced by Eduardo. Clichy had to be alert to clear Smith's shot off the line, while Cesc had the best chance, toe poking Clichy's excellent long ball straight at Given. Diaby also forced a fine save with a curling effort, but 0-0 was about right for a half in which the sides mainly cancelled each other out, despite attacking intent at either end.

If the first half was disappointing, the second half was anything but. Early on, the crucial breakthough was made when Cesc's flick round the corner found Eduardo, whose curling shot came back off the post to Adebayor, who beat two defenders before smashing the ball into the corner. An excellent goal, but better was to follow when the same man ran round the entire back four before firing low beyond Given for his second, and eighteenth of a prolific season. When ex-United midfielder Butt headed past his own keeper for number three, the icing was truly on the cake.

It is turning into a remarkable FA Cup - with Man City currently losing the final fourth round match, there are set to be only six Premiership teams in the last sixteen - the traditional big four, plus Boro and Pompey. That's it. Which, for all the talk of the cup regaining its romance, especially with Havant scoring twice at Anfield yesterday, does almost guarantee that for the 13th season running, one of Arsenal, Chelsea, United or Liverpool will win it.

Also, as a slight sideshow, both the BBC and Sky will be scrabbling around for repeats to show in ten days time, as there are precisely zero replays required. Ha.

Meanwhile, in Ghana, Alex Song played well in Cameroon's 5-1 drubbing of Benin which revitalises their campaign, while Nigeria drew with Mali, ensuring that they're struggling to qualify. Ironically, Eboue could do Arsenal a favour by helping the Ivorians beat Mali, thus taking Nigeria through with them and ensuring that the likes of Mikel stay away from the Premiership for a little longer. There's a sub plot for you.

Not a lot of news elsewhere - the draw for the fifth round is at lunchtime tomorrow, and with so many top flight teams out already, only five of fifteen potential opponents are in the same league as us. Let's hope for a comfortable draw, especially as the match will come a few days before the first leg against Milan.

Until tomorrow.

With Arsenal the target of the week for many papers, particularly the Mail, who have decided to lead a campaign for Adebayor to get banned (probably because he's an 'orrible forriner), it is no surprise to see them talk about the 'latest blow to a reeling club' that is Kolo Toure's groin injury over in Ghana.

Toure was taken off during the Ivorians comfortable victory over Benin, which all but confirmed he and Eboue would remain for the quarter finals, but initial suggestions are that his injury is a tweak or minor pull, which would affect his country more than his club. With the Ivory Coast top of their group after two wins, he is now unlikely to play in their final game, while the full extent of his injury is examined. But given that these injuries are often three week affairs, he may be fit just in time for his return to England. The risk is that he aggravates the injury being rushed back for the later stages of the cup.

Back to the immediate football, and Newcastle arrive in town for the FA Cup this weekend, and with the Kevin Keegan effect in place, we'll have to be exceptionally wary. Team selection will be interesting, as Wenger is probably still considering resting a couple of players ahead of the Premiership match against the same opponents in midweek.

Lehmann may play, while the defence of Gallas, Senderos, Clichy and Sagna picks itself. Cesc may be rested after playing 75 minutes on Tuesday, so Flamini may return alongside Diaby or Gilberto, with Rosicky and probably Hleb wide.

Up front, I would be very surprised to see Adebayor start after his behaviour on Tuesday, so I'd go with Eduardo and a fired up Bendtner.

Everytime Arsenal have been knocked back this season there has been an immediate response. I expect nothing less this time.

Having been out on Tuesday night, I completely missed the Carling Cup semi final embarrassment against Spurs, and as such had to Sky+ the entire match and watch it on Wednesday when I got back. Thanks to some luck, and instructing people that I wanted to avoid the score will all my might, I managed to get home without having an inkling about the outcome.

Sitting down to watch the game on Wednesday afternoon, I couldn't help but be struck by something. The programme was supposed to start at 7.30, and end at 10.15, but the recording was 192 minutes long, more than three hours and would've therefore ended at around 10.40. With kick off at 8pm this told me one very simple fact - the tie had gone to extra time.

At first, I was disappointed to have noticed this - I hate knowing what'll happen before it does, but as Spurs took the lead, I relaxed, knowing that a comeback was imminent. When Spurs scored a second, I allowed myself a little smile. You see, knowing that the tie would go to extra time put a whole different spin on that second goal - it meant that by the time we would come back and force the extra half hour, we'd be leading on away goals. Perversely, the second Spurs goal was good news.

Early in the second half, Spurs got a third, and I experienced a slight flicker of doubt - what if I'd worked it out wrongly? What if Sky had messed up the recording? Whe the fourth went in, I began to seriously worry - the recording time made me believe a comeback was on, but this was becoming more and more unlikely by the minute. Adebayor's goal made me relax a touch, and even wonder if this would be a famous comeback, but as the minutes ran on I came to the horrible realisation that my sense of security was indeed false. There was to be no miracle.

So Sky taped about half an hour of the subsequent programme, and I sat there cursing a hammering that I hadn't even been able to digest at the time, so convinced was I that a famous recovery was on the cards. Until the last five minutes, I remained convinced that the tie was not over.

Thanks for that, Sky. You swines.

Tottenham 5 (Jenas 3, Bendtner og 28, Keane 49, Lennon 60, Malbranque 90) Arsenal 1 (Adebayor 70)

Ouch. No matter what the occasion, no matter who the players, a 5-1 reverse to Spurs will always hurt, and rightly so. To claim that it doesn't matter because it's 'only the Carling Cup' or 'only the reserves' misses the point. Our kids are rightly lauded for their talents, and for players of quality, getting hammered is always painful irrespective of the context.

It was always going to be a tough night. Spurs had the upper hand in both recent matches at the Emirates without getting the results they merited, and they smelt blood last night as Wenger opted to field largely the same side as in the first leg, contrary to media reports claiming it was at full strength. Gallas and Sagna came into the defence due to everyone else being unavailable, while Hleb started in midfield.

As so often in North London derbies, it was Spurs who opened the scoring, Jenas finishing well after he was allowed to run unchallenged to the edge of the area. With no midfielder tracking him, and Hoyte standing off, he fired the opener in off the post.

Bendtner then got himself in the wrong position to head a free kick clear and ended up redirecting the ball past Fabianski, before Berbatov could've wrapped up the tie before half time, hitting the post when clean through (admittedly from an offside position).

At half time, Paul Merson said what we were all thinking - the side were playing as poorly as two weeks ago, and only substitutions or the bottling nature of Spurs could reverse their fortunes. With the next goal crucial, Fabianski let a Keane shot squirm through him and the tie was as good as over. When Lennon scored the goal of the night a bad defeat was turning into a humilation.

Adebayor came off the bench to score a cracking consolation, which served two purposes. Firstly, it scared the Spurs fans into thinking they could throw away a four goal lead, and secondly, it means that we will no longer be hearing the tiresome 'Arsenal never lose when Adebayor scored' statistic. Small mercies and all that.

Malbranque made the most of us pressing forward to tap in a fifth at the death, which put something of a flattering spin on the scoreline, on the night if not the tie as a whole. Over two matches, we have to admit that Spurs were far superior. And that hurts.

But it's done with now, except for the sorting out of an apparent spat between Adebayor and Bendtner, for which Ade has apologised today. This result cannot be allowed to have an effect on the rest of the season, as we've seen before. Last year, we exited all three cup competitions in a matter of weeks, and with an enthusiastic Newcastle coming to town in the FA Cup at the weekend, there is danger of a repeat.

I suspect that Wenger would've played a semi first team on Saturday, saving a couple for the Premiership clash against the same opponents next week. The temptation now will be to ensure that this defeat is followed up with a win. That said, we have to have faith in these players - you cannot praise them as highly as we have over two years only to write them off after one poor defeat.

Analysing individual performances would be futile, as no-one stood out as playing particularly well or badly - everyone underperformed. The only point I would make is that, quite strangely, it was some of the regular first teamers who looked most uncomfortable, with Hleb and Sagna doing a fine impression of two players who had never played together before, while Gallas was out of sorts himself.

They say you learn more from defeat than victory. Let's hope so, because nights like that hurt.

We all know journalists are specialists at taking a quote and then creating a story out of it, generally missing the whole point (perhaps deliberately). But sometimes, the contradictions are just too blatent. Check out the Mail's preview of the Arsenal-Spurs tie:

The bad news for the Tottenham skipper is that Arsene Wenger is set to abandon his policy of fielding his reserves and play a near full-strength team in tonight's Carling Cup semi-final second leg at White Hart Lane.

Really? That would be against everything Wenger's said, so I wonder if they've got any quotes to back that up? Scroll down a little, and you find Wenger's comments:

"I will rotate the squad which means those that didn't play on Saturday will play at Tottenham. I will put the younger players out and have experienced ones on the bench because the squad has been reduced. On the bench you might find a high number of Premier League players."

So not a 'near full-strength team' at all, then. Glad we've cleared that up.

So here we are again - for the fourth time this season, Arsenal and Spurs will square off against each other, with the familiar build up focusing on our impressive record against the old enemy over the years.

Tonight is something different though, because Spurs go into the second leg of the Carling Cup semi as favourites, based on both the first leg draw, and the confirmation that Wenger will, for the most part, stick to the same youngsters that have brought us this far.

There are exceptions - with Toure in Ghana, Djourou already out, and now Senderos injured, Gallas steps in as the only remaining centre back, to partnered by one of Hoyte or Sagna, probably the former.

With Song also at the African Cup of Nations, and Diarra now departed, there are a couple of spaces for more experienced players, and Wenger has suggested that he'll line the bench with game changing options, not a bad plan given that he may not field the first choice eleven in the FA Cup this weekend either.

I have to say I've been predicting we'd lose this one for a while. The recall of Gallas should at least make our defence less shaky - two weeks ago Spurs were waltzing through, but we'll need to pose more of a threat going forward this time.

There are questions - can the kids prove themselves again? Are Spurs able to get past their mental block? Personally, I can see it going to extra time, but us getting edged out. Of course, Spurs would celebrate that like they'd won the league, but that just shows the gap between the clubs is as big as it has ever been.

Either way, it should be a fun tie, with the pressure and the expectation off their shoulders for once. A win would be utterly fantastic, but even an honourable defeat would be acceptable.

My heart says Walcott will answer his critics with a brace. My head says a 2-1 defeat.

Liverpool's fans are on the warpath again, and their anger is directed firmly towards the club's owners, Tom Hicks and George Gillett, while their support for Rafa Benitez remains firm.

Can I just ask one simple question - why?

Yes, Benitez has won the Champions League, and yes, he clearly understands cup competitions, of the European variety particularly. But he doesn't understand the Premiership, and he's in his fifth season in England now. Liverpool are not progressing, in fact they are back to where they began under him - hoping for European success to distract them from a battle with Everton for fourth place.

Financially, he has been well backed - although his sales raised some money in the summer, he splashed out an absolute fortune on new players, notably Torres (costing more than twice as much as anyone in Arsenal's squad). Following that, he then claims he isn't being backed in the market. Really?

He made a similar complaint last season, after he'd seen his young side demolished 6-3 in the Carling Cup, by none other than our kids, coming out after the game saying that he couldn't spend the couple of million it took to sign those young players. There was no irony in his voice, despite the fact that only months earlier he had spent 14m on Craig Bellamy and Jermaine Pennant, while Kuyt took that summer's spending over 20m on average players.

Liverpool are not going to be Premiership challengers under Benitez - he has revamped the squad and got precisely nowhere. This is not a team in transition - they haven't won the league in eighteen years and have barely ever come close. There are no peaks and troughs, and it is only his cup record saving him.

But they are out of the Carling Cup, they scraped through the Champions League, and are miles off the pace in the league. If Inter Milan bring their Serie A form to Anfield their European adventure won't last much longer either.

And then what?

And a note to Steve Gerrard - you can't blame your team's poor performances on the board room unrest. You've been consistently dropping points all season, winning just four of eleven home games. This isn't a new occurrence. Arsenal, Chelsea and United have all gone to Anfield and come away with a result.

The longer the fans step back and back Benitez, the longer this will go on. He has spent a fortune, and only brought European success. Admirable though that is, it is all they will get.

Fulham 0 Arsenal 3 (Adebayor 19, 38, Rosicky 81)

It is strange to think Emmanuel Adebayor is still not considered worthy of Arsenal by some of the club's own fans. Top scorer for the season, by some distance, his goals are generally match winners, and have papered over the cracks blown wide open by Henry's departure and Van Persie's continual injuries. You only need to witness the ineptitude of Aliadiere at Boro yesterday to understand how preferable it is to have someone of Ade's ability up front as opposed to the impotent threat we carried at the back end of last season.

Yesterday, nothing less than a win would do, and after a shaky start where the passing went a little astray as it has in recent weeks, we took the lead. Rather than passing through the centre, it was an old fashioned goal, with Clichy overlapping on the left before swinging in a tremendous cross for Adebayor to head into the corner.

It was a smart tactical ploy - with Fulham lacking height in the centre, Adebayor as always going to win the aerial battle, and if anyone thought it was a tactical stroke of luck, their doubts were erased when the same weakness was exploited for the second goal. Flamini appeared to lose the ball before showing the tenacity to win it back, play it to Hleb whose cross found the onrushing Adebayor who powered in his second.

From there, the game was over. Cesc poked a shot wide, and Rosicky hit the outside of the post after an extraordinary Eduardo run and pass which saw him beat any number of Fulham defenders with an array of tricks.

Finally, the third was scored, and as so often this season, it was Rosicky who added the finishing gloss, making a perfectly timed run into the box to reach Eduardo's cross with an outstretched leg. The Czech was excellent all day, and it has to be hoped that he now stays fit - we've seen him hit these heights before only to be crocked and lose his rhythm. If he can stay fit he'll be a potent weapon for the rest of the season.

Hleb was excellent again, while Adebayor was simply dominant up front. The defence had little to do with Fulham rarely getting past the tigerish attention of Flamini in the centre.

So three routine points wrapped up, and with the bench unused it seems the starting eleven may all be rested for the Spurs game on Tuesday, ready for a Newcastle side equally rested next weekend.

Roll on Tuesday.