Tottenham skipper Ledley King believes keeping hold of Dimitar Berbatov will be a sign of the club's ambition.Berbatov scored twice against Reading in the FA Cup at the weekend but picked up a slight ankle knock and will need to be assessed before Wednesday's Carling Cup semi-final against Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium.

"It's no surprise he is being linked away but we want to keep hold of our best players,'' said King.

"If we want to be moving in the right direction, we need to hold on to him, it's as simple as that.!"

King was injured last season when Spurs lost to their rivals at the same stage

of the competition despite going 2-0 ahead in the first leg.

"It was one of our biggest disappointments,'' said King. "We are hungry to put that right and we are happy we have got the chance to play them again.

"We have learnt a lot from last season's disappointment and we will be stronger this time around. There are new players in, the manager has changed, but the core of the team is still the same.''

Even with King's recent return from knee surgery, Spurs' defence has looked shaky, with goals from Berbatov and Robbie Keane keeping them afloat.

"It will be a shame if our problems cost us the chance of winning trophies,''

King added. "Having got to the semi-final, we want to go on and win it, but Arsenal can score from anywhere.

"We know that against a side like Arsenal, we can't afford to make many mistakes so that will be in our plans when we go to the Emirates on Wednesday. We will want to stay solid because we know we can score goals.

"We will have to defend a lot better than we did last year if we are to go through.''

Meanwhile, Pascal Chimbonda has revealed his surprise at Spurs being linked with Alan Hutton as well as signing Chris Gunter, who both play in his right-back role.

Chimbonda could still, however, sign a new contract.

"I would be happy to stay if I receive the right contract offer,'' he said.

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