Arsenal forward Robin van Persie struck twice to earn his side bragging rights in north London with a 3-0 win and put a question mark over whether rivals Tottenham can sustain a top-four challenge in the Barclays Premier League.

Spurs have not won a league game against Arsenal since 1999, and they fell away after Van Persie opened the scoring at the Emirates Stadium and Cesc Fabregas added the second after winning possession straight from the kick-off.

Both sides went into the weekend level on points, albeit with Spurs playing a game extra, but talk of the gap between the clubs being closed was well and truly ended when Van Persie tapped in the third after the break.

The Holland striker got the ball rolling after 42 minutes, poking home from close-range at the neat post after Bacary Sagna's cross.

The second came 11 seconds after Spurs kicked off. Wilson Palacios tripped over himself and Fabregas took charge, bursting through challenges from the Honduras international and Tom Huddlestone. The Arsenal skipper then skipped around Ledley King and planted his finish coolly past Heurelho Gomes.

The clinching third came on the hour mark, when Sagna's cross went through the barrier formed by Gomes and Ledley King, with Van Persie tapping in.