ARSENAL 1-1 MAN U

Arsenal was held to a 1-1 draw against
Manchester United at the Emirates in
a match dominated by Robin van
Persie's return to this old club.
Theo Walcott gave the hosts the lead
inside the second minute as Arsenal raced
out of the blocks but the Gunners were
pegged back at the end of the half
courtesy of a van Persie penalty.
After a week's worth of speculation, van
Persie started on his return to the
Emirates while Lukas Podolski also made
a rare start as Arsenal's central striker
with Olivier Giroud missing with
suspension.
The Gunners got off to the perfect start in
front of their red hot home support when
Walcott beat the offside trap and calmly
found a way past David de Gea from a
tight angle inside the second minute.
Santi Cazorla then stung the hands of the
United keeper with a shot from range as
Arsenal maintained their early
momentum.
Van Persie's first real involvement in the
game was a miscued shot which sailed
high over the bar just after the 10 minute
mark, much to the delight of the Gunners'
supporters. Those fans then collectively
held their breath moments later when
the Dutchman broke down the left flank
before crossing for Phil Jones who failed
to find the target with a header after
surging into the box.
Wenger's men lost some of that early
impetus as the first half went on but were
sparked back into life when Jonny Evans
brought down Walcott just outside the
area.
The free kick was wasted but moments
later Arsenal had a glorious chance to
double its lead on the counterattack.
Rosicky elected to pass to Podolski, rather
than the unmarked Walcott, but the
German could only fire his shot from a
tight angle straight at De Gea.
Arsenal then had Wojciech Szczesny to
thank for keeping it ahead just before the
break. The Poland international made
himself big to keep out van Persie's
header from point-blank range after a
swift United counterattack.
But moments later van Persie made no
mistake, this time from the spot, after
Sagna's rash challenge on the Dutchman
gave United a penalty.
The Gunners made a bright start after the
break and could have gone ahead early on
but Tomas Rosicky's prod with the
outside of his boot whistled just past the
De Gea's far post.
Sir Alex's side soon edged back into the
contest and dictated the game for a
period of 15 minutes. Van Persie over-hit
a low cross past the onrushing Antonio
Valencia before Wayne Rooney wasted a
good chance with a header straight at
Szczesny from close range.
Arsenal rallied for a winner in a end-to-
end finale to match with the visitors still a
threat on the break but neither side
could fashion the clear-cut chance needed
to win the game.
Cazorla came close with a powerful right-
footed shot which was palmed away by
De Gea with minutes left on the clock
before Ryan Giggs wasted a great
opportunity when found totally unmarked
on the break by Rooney.