10-man Arsenal hold on for battling draw

(CNN) -- Ten-man Arsenal battled to earn a point as the north London derby against Tottenham ended 0-0 at White Hart Lane, leaving the home side two points above the Premier League relegation zone while Arsenal remain fifth in the table.

Ivory Coast international winger Emmanuel Eboue saw red after picking up two needless yellow cards in the first half, while the Gunners also had to cope with the loss of striker Emmanuel Adebayor who pulled up with what looked like a serious hamstring problem.

Irishman Robbie Keane had led the Spurs attack on his debut after returning from Liverpool, and went close with a header from Aaron Lennon's cross in the second-half.

Meanwhile, Alex Song fired wide from a corner to miss the best chance for Arsenal, who left new signing Andrei Arshavin on the substitutes' bench.

The first match between the two fierce rivals ended 4-4 in late October, after Spurs scored twice in the last two minutes, but Sunday's encounter never looked like reaching those heights.

Eboue picked up his first caution for complaining at the award of a free-kick after 17 minutes and was dismissed for kicking out at midfielder Luka Modric.

However, despite their numerical advantage, Tottenham never seriously troubled the Arsenal defense -- with their best chance falling to Modric in stoppage time, who failed to beat keeper Manuel Almunia when put through on goal.