Gunners held by late Villa sucker punch
Gareth Barry scored on his return as skipper of Aston Villa
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Friday, 26, Dec 2008 10:34
Arsenal blew a two-goal lead to draw 2-2 with Aston Villa at Villa Park.
An injury-time equaliser from Zat Knight completed the comeback after a Gareth Barry penalty had set-up a grandstand finish.
The Gunners looked to be cruising at one stage after goals from Denilson and Abou Diaby. But Villa's comeback sees them drop to fourth, three points clear of fifth-placed Arsenal.
And Martin O'Neill's men will feel a point is the least they deserved after creating a sack full of chances.
They exploited the visitors' fragile defence with Steve Sidwell's header rattling the post while an unmarked Curtis Davies put his header inches wide.
Goalkeeper Manuel Almunia kept his side in the game with fine saves to keep out efforts from Ashley Young and Gabriel Agbonlahor.
The woodwork again came to Arsenal's aid when James Milner poked the ball against the post, while Davies' shot on the turn smashed against the crossbar.
After weathering the storm, Arsene Wenger's men took an undeserved lead on 40 minutes when Denilson outpaced his marker to tuck the ball under Brad Friedel.
Despite the absence of Emmanuel Adebayor and skipper Cesc Fabregas, the Gunners looked to be heading for a vital victory at the start of the second half when Diaby went on a mazy run before trading passes with Emmanuel Eboue and slotting the ball in.
That sparked an impressive period of play for the visitors and Robin Van Persie came agonisingly close to scoring a third when his drive rattled the post.
But Villa were given a lifeline on 65 minutes after William Gallas' reckless challenge on Agbonlahor to concede a penalty, with Barry slamming in the spot kick for his 50th career goal for the Midlands club.
O'Neill's troops threw everything at the Gunners in the final 20 minutes with Milner's shot blocked by Mikael Silvestre.
But the Gunners' habit of conceding late goals continued when Stiiliyan Petrov's cross fell to Knight who lashed his shot past a despairing Almunia to seal Villa's first double over Arsenal since 1993.