Arsenal swept aside north London rivals Tottenham to take their place in the fourth round of the FA Cup.

Santi Cazorla drilled in a fine opening goal on 31 minutes, before Tomas Rosicky doubled the lead on the hour with a well-taken finish after robbing Danny Rose on the halfway line and sprinting clear.

Tottenham, who had shown signs of improvement under new boss Tim Sherwood, were overrun in midfield as their strike pair Emmanuel Adebayor and Roberto Soldado failed to cause many problems.

The victory came at a cost, however, with England forward Theo Walcott carried off on a stretcher in the closing stages after appearing to suffer a knee injury, which if serious could force manager Arsene Wenger into the transfer market to bolster the depleted attacking options of the Barclays Premier League leaders.

Both sides made a bright start to the game. Spurs created the first opening on nine minutes as a deflected clearance sent Christian Eriksen in on goal. However, Arsenal No 2 Lukasz Fabianski spread himself well to make a save.

Walcott then came close twice for Arsenal and team-mate Serge Gnarby fired a shot inches over. The home side remained in the ascendency and took the lead when Gnarby took Bacary Sagna's pass and set up Cazorla, who unleased a fierce finish.

Tottenham tried to fight back early in the second half but former Arsenal striker Adebayor failed to connect properly with Aaron Lennon's cross - much to the amusement of the home fans.

At the other end, Walcott threatened again and just moments later it was 2-0, when Rose dawdled on the halfway line, allowing Rosicky to nip in before racing clear and sending a lovely chip over keeper Hugo Lloris.

The hosts had to play the closing stages with 10 men as Walcott was carried off in front of the Spurs fans, some of whom threw objects - which appeared to include coins and plastic bottles - while the striker signalled a "2-0" gesture with his hands, before donning an Arsenal scarf as he was taken around the stadium.