LONDON (Reuters) - Arsenal's Togolese striker Emmanuel Adebayor apologised on Wednesday for striking out at team mate Nicklas Bendtner during Tuesday's 5-1 defeat to arch-rivals Tottenham Hotspur.

With the English FA considering taking disciplinary action against Adebayor and Bendtner after their bust-up seven minutes from the end of the second leg of their League Cup semi-final, Adebayor apologised on the Arsenal Web site (www.arsenal.com).

"We are a strong unit and what happened last night against Spurs will strengthen our desire and determination to compete for other targets," he said.

"Overall I think that we should have been more calm during the game and although I was pleased to get a goal back for the team when I came on, I am sorry for the disagreement with my team mate Nicklas.

"We are both passionate about this club and sometimes that can be projected in the wrong way. It was a mistake. We want to focus on the games ahead and rely on our squad's great togetherness to achieve a fantastic season."

An FA spokesman confirmed they had requested television footage of the incident as a routine step in such cases.

"The referee can look at the incident and decide what action he would have taken if he had seen it," he said.

Arsenal skipper William Gallas had to pull the two players apart as Spurs stormed to their first victory over Arsenal for 22 matches in just over eight years.

The 5-1 win gave Spurs a 6-2 aggregate victory and means they will face either holders Chelsea or Everton in next month's final at Wembley.

They meet in the second leg of their semi-final later on Wednesday.

Referee Howard Webb also spoke to the two players after Adebayor struck out at Bendtner who did not retaliate after being restrained by colleagues Bacary Sagna and Eduardo da Silva.

Gallas, who also intervened, said: "They know they have made a mistake and they will have to explain to the boss why they did that. I think everyone was disappointed with the score. They are both young, were nervous and lost their calm."

Bendtner also became involved in a face-to-face confrontation with Gallas, but Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said he did not see the incident which marred an already awful night for Arsenal who had not lost to Spurs since November 1999.

(Reporting by Mike Collett, Editing by Justin Palmer)