Arsenal´s stirring fightback keeps title hopes alive

AFP - 29 March 2008 19:23

Arsenal´s forward Theo Walcott (L) clashes with Bolton Wanderers´ Matt Taylor during their English Premier league football match at The Reebok Stadium in Bolton. Arsenal´s title challenge is still alive after the 10-man Gunners completed a stunning comeback to win 3-2 at Bolton.

BOLTON, England (AFP) - Arsenal's title challenge is still alive after the 10-man Gunners completed a stunning comeback to win 3-2 at Bolton on Saturday.

Arsene Wenger's side were deep in trouble at the Reebok Stadium after Matt Taylor's double for Bolton and Abou Diaby's dismissal in the first half.

But the north London club proved they have no intention of giving up on the title without a fight.

William Gallas gave them hope in the 62nd minute and Robin van Persie equalised soon after to set up a frantic finish.

The outcome of a thrilling contest was only determined in the closing seconds when Cesc Fabregas met Alexander Hleb's cross and the ball trickled in via a generous deflection off Jlloyd Samuel.

It was Arsenal's first win in six league games and closed the gap on leaders United to three points ahead of the reigning champions' match against Aston Villa later Saturday.

Bolton opened the scoring with their first meaningful foray into opposition territory.

El Hadji Diouf took possession from a throw-in and slid the ball down the line for overlapping full-back Steinsson. The Icelandic defender delivered the perfect cross for Taylor who sped in ahead of his marker and headed past Manuel Almunia from six yards.

The goal stunned Arsenal and bred new confidence into Bolton who successfully managed to stifle Arsenal's slick passing game for a spell.

The game took a dramatic twist on the half hour with the dismissal of Diaby for a disgraceful, foot-up lunge that caught Gretar Steinsson as he was clearing the ball up field. Television replays showed referee Chris Foy had clearly got the automatic red card decision correct although Wenger did himself no favours with his complaints about the dismissal.

Despite being reduced to ten men, Nicklas Bendtner soon forced Ali Al Habsi into the save of the half with a shot that took a harsh deflection and was well parried by the keeper, a miss that proved all the more costly when Bolton doubled their lead two minutes before the interval.

Flamini was caught in possession by Gavin McCann, allowing Diouf to square the ball to Taylor, on the edge of the Arsenal area, and the resulting shot took an unkind deflection off the back of Gallas before flying into the bottom left-hand corner.

The frustration for the visitors was evident and Fabregas was soon cautioned, for a foul on Diouf, before Kevin Davies's foul on Toure earned him a caution, along with the Arsenal man for retaliation.

The second half opened with Bolton looking for the goal that would surely kill off the game, defender Gary Cahill coming close with two early shots from set-pieces.

In the 52nd minute, Almunia erred in trying to smother a Taylor free-kick and was fortunate to see the rebound fall inches away from Davies before the Spanish keeper made amends with a fabulous reflex save that denied Cahill's header from a Taylor corner.

There was a dangerous half-volley from Davies that was well held by the keeper soon after and, just as Arsenal had in the first half, Bolton would soon pay for wasted chances.

In the 62nd minute, Gallas arrived unmarked at the far post to convert a Fabregas corner which had been missed the Bolton defenders in the six-yard box.

Then, just five minutes later, a superb back heel from Emmanuel Adebayor set up Mathieu Flamini whose shot was brilliantly saved by Ali Al Habsi only for Gary Cahill to concede a penalty for a trip on Hleb.

Robin van Persie, who had been guilty of a number of poor misses, made no mistake with a clinically taken penalty.

Then in the final seconds, Hleb's cross caused chaos and Fabregas's effort deflected in off Samuel to seal a remarkable revival.