Arsenal seemed well set for yet another win when the man of the match, Robert Pires, improvised a clever close- range finish to put them 2-1 up midway through the second half. Bolton, however, are nothing if not competitive, and inspired by the introduction of 38-year-old Les Ferdinand, they hit back hard for the point their spirit and endeavour merited.
First versus third at kick-off, two good teams produced a suitably even-steven contest, with Bolton starting and finishing well and the champions much the better side in the middle. Arsenal are now unbeaten in 46 Premiership matches but habitually have problems with yesterday’s opposition.
Bolton, who can play as well as fight, are a credit to their manager, Sam Allardyce, who has fashioned a powerful, attractive unit on the cheap. In their previous two matches they had beaten Liverpool 1-0 and drawn with Manchester United 2-2, and Allardyce rated this as the best performance of the three.
“To come back twice at Highbury is no mean feat,” he said. “I think it shows the quality, as well as the spirit, we have now, and reflects the hard work we’ve put in over the past five years.” Amen to that.
Arsenal need Sol Campbell back. The England centre-half celebrated his 30th birthday watching his teammates losing the sort of aerial battles that he has made a career of winning. He is due to make his comeback after injury in the reserves tomorrow, and will be a shoo-in to replace the iffy Pascal Cygan. Ferdinand came on as a substitute for El-Hadji Diouf and immediately terrorised Cygan and company in the air.
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Earlier, Fifa’s Fair Play Day had started with Allardyce having a familiar bleat about how referees favour big clubs, such as Arsenal, at the expense of smaller fry, such as his. Arsène Wenger was quick to point out that we had heard all this before, notably before a 2-2 draw that scuppered his team’s title chances the season before last. This time he wasted no time in reminding the officials they were being “pressurised”. There is no love lost, as they say, and “Big Sam” had his dogs of war quickly out of the traps.
Thierry Henry had warned his teammates of Jay-Jay Okocha’s match-winning potential, and the Nigerian ball conjuror justified the attention with some bewitching work in midfield. Midway through the first half, however, Arsenal found their rhythm, and in the 31st minute they took the lead. Patrick Vieira’s through pass enabled Henry to run on, bisecting Bruno N’Gotty and Nicky Hunt, before coolly beating Jussi Jaaskelainen with the deftest of finishes from 17 yards.
Henry should have doubled the margin just before half-time but headed weakly at the goalkeeper from close range. Reprieved, Bolton regained parity when Jens Lehmann failed to cut out Okocha’s corner under pressure from Radhi Jaidi, who took full advantage with a punishing header. Arsenal were ahead again within three minutes, Freddie Ljungberg’s centre arriving behind Pires, who adjusted his feet with a dexterity of which Nureyev would have been proud to score from six yards.
Visibly frustrated by this turn of events, Allardyce went berserk on the touchline when Ricardo Gardner was booked, and had to be restrained by the fourth official, Dermot Gallagher, whose efforts put the Commons’ men in tights to shame. The big man’s mood improved after 85 minutes when Ferdinand headed Gardner’s long free kick to Henrik Pedersen, who controlled the ball neatly with his right foot before scoring with his left.
The result was a fair one, Wenger admitted grumpily. Arsenal’s bogey team had got up their noses again.
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STAR MAN: Robert Pires (Arsenal)
Player ratings. Arsenal: Lehmann 5, Lauren 6, Toure 7, Cygan 5, Cole 7, Ljungberg 6, Gilberto 6 (Edu 66min 7), Vieira 7, Pires 8 (Clichy 82min 7), Reyes 7 (Bergkamp 69min 7), Henry 7
Bolton: Jaaskelainen 7, Hunt 6, N’Gotty 7, Jaidi 7, Gardner 7, Campo 6 (Hierro 74min 7), Okocha 8, Speed 6, Nolan 7, Diouf 5 (Ferdinand 55min 8), Davies (Pedersen 55min 7)
Scorers: Arsenal: Henry 31, Pires 66
Bolton: Jaidi 63, Pedersen 83
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Referee: P Dowd
Attendance: 37,010