Arsenal's Adebayor apologises for striking out at Bendtner

Arsenal's Togolese striker Emmanuel Adebayor apologised yesterday for striking out at team-mate Nicklas Bendtner during Tuesday's 5-1 defeat to rivals Tottenham.

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 website.

"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 as a substitute, I am sorry for the disagreement with my team-mate Nicklas."

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. Tottenham play other London rivals Chelsea in the final on February 24.

Gallas 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."