Theo Walcott equalised for Arsenal to prevent Tottenham Hotspur from claiming their first win over the Gunners since 1999, as the first leg of the Carling Cup semi final finished 1-1.

The equaliser came off Walcott's stomach after he was blocked by Lee Young-Pyo, maintaining Arsenal's unbeaten record at home this season.

Jermaine Jenas had given Spurs a first half lead at the Emirates Stadium against Arsene Wenger's young side, with Walcott levelling with 11 minutes remaining.

Steed Malbranque had just missed a sitter for the away side before Robbie Keane broke clear and squared the ball for Jenas to finish.

Paul Robinson's replacement Radek Cerny was called into action in the 14th minute. Cerny looked to be heading in the wrong direction when Nicklas Bendtner met Justin Hoyte's cross - but he threw himself towards the ball and parried to safety.

Steed Malbranque missed a good opportunity in the 33rd minute, shooting wide after recieving the ball through a Philippe Senderos tackled on Robbie Keane.

The Spurs midfielder could have atoned a minute later but headed wide after Keane had rounded Lukasz Fabianski out wide and crossed to the far post.

Dimitar Berbatov latched onto Johan Djourou's poor clearance and played Keane through.

Keane squared to Jenas and the flag stayed down as he applied a simple close-range finish.

Abou Diaby saw a shot from the edge of the penalty area blocked by Michael Dawson as Arsenal pushed for an equaliser.

And the leveller arrived on 80 minutes when Eduardo fed Walcott through the middle and the former Southampton ace then fortuitously saw his effort rebound off Lee Young-Pyo and into the empty net.

Sub Jermain Defoe almost put Spurs ahead again, but he fired over from close range after collecting a diagonal pass from Aaron Lennon.