Arsenal-bound playmaker Samir Nasri also came on for the final 15 minutes but it changed nothing.
Meanwhile, Samir Nasri and Aaron Ramsey have joined the Gunners, who are now strongly being linked with Aston Villa midfielder Gareth Barry.
The first glitch in Arsenal's relaxed afternoon occurred when key midfielder Samir Nasri pulled up with a hamstring injury and was replaced.
Ten minutes in, David Silva's defense-splitting through ball found Samir Nasri, who unleashed a shot that left Spurs goalkeeper Brad Friedel no chance.
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Samir Nasri rescued a point for France in Donetsk after his Manchester City team-mate Joleon Lescott had fired England into a first-half lead.
Last summer saw Arsenal lose two of their start players, Samir Nasri to rivals Manchester City and club captain Cesc Fabregas to Barcelona.
First-half goals from Samir Nasri and Denilson set the Gunners on their way to the knockout stage for a 10th campaign in succession.
The hosts were playing their typically free-flowing game and Samir Nasri and skipper Fabregas, back from injury, both wasted good chances inside the box.
They finally ended the siege after 23 minutes when Samir Nasri broke into the area and curled a shot narrowly wide with Valdes struggling.
Wenger also hailed Samir Nasri, who capped an excellent performance with a superb goal, turning three defenders before firing in from an acute angle.
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The pair have been named on a 10-man shortlist for the Fifa Puskas Award, along with the likes of Arjen Robben and Arsenal's Samir Nasri.
Arsenal then went ahead as Samir Nasri exchanged passes with Andrey Arshavin and fired home, before Cesc Fabregas had a penalty saved by Joe Hart.
Arsenal, who had Alex Song sent off for two yellow cards, missed a penalty when Tomas Rosicky blazed over after Ahmed Elmohamady had fouled Samir Nasri.
Wenger also revealed that Samir Nasri has not been completely ruled out of the first leg of Wednesday's Champions League last-16 tie at home to Barcelona.
Peter Odemwingie, Gonzalo Jara and Jerome Thomas put Albion 3-0 up before Samir Nasri gave the Gunners a glimmer of hope after scoring a late double.
And as Arsenal continued to dominate the opening exchanges, Arshavin forced a fine save from Cech and Samir Nasri was narrowly off target with a low drive.
First, Samir Nasri's emphatic finish from Silva's pass on 56 minutes gave City the lead before Joleon Lescott bundled a corner into the net three minutes later.
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Samir Nasri drilled in a second just before half-time, after a well-worked move, while teenager Aaron Ramsey smashed home a third on 69 minutes after some fine individual skill.
But Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger , who has a number of players in his squad that wear the neck warmer - including midfielder Samir Nasri - defended his players.
Eagles almost gave Burnley the lead after 62 minutes when he escaped the attentions of Samir Nasri and Mikael Silvestre on the right flank before striking the woodwork with a rising angled drive.
Arsenal also missed chances as Samir Nasri had his free-kick parried by Sunderland goalkeeper Simon Mignolet, Marouane Chamakh was thwarted by the crossbar and Arshavin shot tamely from 12 yards.
If the Frenchman's first-choice midfield five of Samir Nasri, Cesc Fabregas, Alexandre Song, Abou Diaby, and Andrey Arshavin are all fit, will one of them miss out to accommodate an in-form Wilshere?
Samir Nasri scored the clinching goal with 10 minutes left at the Etihad Stadium to end the bold challenge of the newly promoted visitors, who had threatened a victory of their own.
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And Wenger admitted he was a little worried when Rafael pulled a goal back for United in the 90th minute that Arsenal could let slip another two-goal lead, given to them by Samir Nasri's double.
Samir Nasri, taking on Cesc Fabregas' midfield mantle in the absence of Arsenal's inspirational captain through injury, embarked on a weaving, angled solo run that took him past a succession of Porto defenders to score.
Wenger's side finally managed to apply some pressure, but found Chelsea's defence in resilient mood as Cole made a superb saving tackle as Samir Nasri shaped to shoot and Cech saved well from Fabregas' low free-kick.
In a wide-open match largely devoid of tough tackles and less physical than many training sessions, Samir Nasri scored twice for City and Ramires had two goals for Chelsea, which was playing its 76th match of the season.
Van Persie was the creator with a superb pass that let in Samir Nasri, and when he lifted the ball over Gomes, Adebayor beat Alan Hutton in a straight race to poke home from almost on the goal-line.
United gain a free kick on the left of the City penalty area and a well struck shot from Robin van Persie takes a big nick off Samir Nasri as he attempts to take cover and the ball dips into the lower far corner.
The Frenchman is also without forward Nicklas Bendtner, who has a groin injury and is three weeks away from a comeback, while midfielder Samir Nasri is expected to return to training in the next few days after being absent since 15 August with a knee problem.
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