Arsenal fell five points behind Manchester United in the Premier League title race despite fighting back to salvage a 2-2 draw at West Bromwich Albion on Saturday.
Steven Reid and Peter Odemwingie gave West Brom a two-goal lead, but Andrey Arshavin started Arsenal’s comeback in the 70th minute and Robin van Persie equalized eight minutes later.
“We had our backs to the wall and our resilience and character was tested because the pitch was very difficult,” Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said. “It was more down to fight and character than pure football.”
But Man United beat Bolton 1-0 to increase its lead over Arsenal, which still has a game in hand.
Dimitar Berbatov took advantage of Bolton goalkeeper Jussi Jaaskelainen’s inability to hold a long shot from Nani to slot the rebound into an empty net in the 87th minute.
United went down to 10 men when defender Jonny Evans was shown a straight red card in the 76th minute for a studs-up challenge on Bolton midfielder Stuart Holden, who was left with a bloody gash on his knee and had to be carried off on a stretcher.
Moments before the goal, Matt Taylor missed a close-range header that would have put the visitors in front.
Instead, manager Alex Ferguson watched from the stands as Berbatov extended his team’s lead in the Premier League title race, as Arsenal was held to a 2-2 draw at West Bromwich Albion.
Ferguson began serving a five-match touchline ban for his recent critical comments about referee Martin Atkinson.
“I think the fans were magnificent, the sending off galvanised us and the fans got us over the line,” Ferguson said. “We’ve had five massive games the last couple of weeks, it’s been a hell of a programme, and the lads deserve praise for that. It wasn’t a 100 percent top performance today but we never gave in. That’s the fantastic character of this club.”
“I am disappointed we dropped two points, but it was psychologically important for the rest of the season to show character and not lose the game,” Wenger said.
The Gunners have already seen their hopes of a title end in the Champions League, FA Cup and League Cup over the past three weeks.
“We of course have been hit very hard, but we have the mental resolve and we have shown it today,” Wenger said. “That is a good basis to finish the season now ... we are ready for a fight.”
West Brom, which is now a point above the relegation zone, went ahead after three minutes.
Captain Chris Brunt swung in a corner and Reid was allowed the space to jump and crash a header beyond Manuel Almunia for his first Premier League goal for nearly five years.
Aaron Ramsey, who was starting for Arsenal for the first time since breaking his leg in February 2010, appeared to be the main culprit in failing to mark Reid.
Arsenal should have then equalised when a header from Van Persie came back off the bar. The ball dropped to Ramsey right in front of goal, but the Wales midfielder could only strike it straight at Scott Carson.
West Brom were gifted a second goal when Almunia charged out of his box after Youssouf Mulumbu launched a long ball forward. But the Spanish goalkeeper completely misjudged the ball before getting in a tangle with Sebastien Squillaci and Odemwingie slotted into the net.
“It was a big misunderstanding and I have to watch that closer to see what happened there,” Wenger said. “But we were absolutely 100 percent guilty on that.”
The Gunners seemed to be fading, but a slick move saw them suddenly pull a goal back through Arshavin, who played a one-two with Marouane Chamakh before turning and rifling a shot beyond Carson.
Arsenal began pouring forward and eight minutes later the leveller came, with the Russian again the catalyst. His looping cross hit the post and West Brom defender Abdoulaye Meite was unable to deal with the rebound before Van Persie bundled it over the line.
Tottenham Hotspur endured a frustrating time in front of goal on Saturday as West Ham United held the Champions League quarter-finalists 0-0 in an entertaining Premier League game at White Hart Lane.
The point did little to help either side's cause as Spurs stayed fifth in the table and West Ham crept one point clear of the relegation zone.
Tottenham dominated possession but could not turn chances into goals against an improving West Ham whose recent good run has lifted their confidence.
The home side's best opening came five minutes before the break when winger Aaron Lennon cracked a low, right-footed shot against the far post.
Jermain Defoe should have done much better with the rebound but fluffed it from six metres, having earlier gone close to notching against his former club when he turned a Gareth Bale cross just wide.
Bale, making his first start in two months following a back injury, had the chance to snatch the points with just over five minutes to go but his free kick was superbly saved by Robert Green who tipped it away with his left hand at full stretch.
Defoe had another close-range opportunity in the dying minutes but a well-timed challenge by Wayne Bridge, the lynchpin of the West Ham defence, denied him.
West Ham were dangerous on the break with Carlton Cole charging through to meet a clever pass from Demba Ba to go one on one with the keeper but his weak shot was easily saved by Heurelho Gomes midway through the first half.
Ba forced an excellent save from Gomes early in the second period while Mark Noble attempted a spectacular overhead kick which went just wide before missing the target again having done the hard work of getting past two Spurs defenders.
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