Arsenal lined up as expected. Seaman was back in goal, with a back 4 of Luzhny, Campbell, Cygan and Cole; midfield of Vieira, Edu, Wiltord and Freddie (Pires on the bench); Henry and Bergkamp up front.

Arsenal took the lead thanks to Dennis Bergkamp on 36 minutes, with a classic half-volley from the edge of the box. But Beattie equalised in the dying seconds of the first half with a 25 yard free-kick. Don't be surprised to see Seaman unfairly blamed in some quarters tomorrow. The kick was superbly taken, but controversially awarded.

Things turned thanks to another dodgy decision when Sol Campbell was sent off on 57 minutes for allegedly bringing Delgado down, and a penalty was given which Beattie converted. It took the ref a while to disperse the complaining Arsenal players, and while we haven't seen the replays yet, the guys on the radio seemed convinced it was no foul. We'll have to wait and see if it's clear cut enough to warrant an appeal.

10 minute later we were undone by another still-ball situation, when Fernandez' free-kick was deflected in by Kolo Toure. Pires got one back with 10 minutes to go as Arsenal pressed to pull the game round, scoring from close range after Niemi had blocked his initial header. But that was all we could manage, and Delap missed a chance at the other end too.

Credit has to go to the Finnish keeper Niemi, who pulled off some superb saves to prevent Arsenal capitalising on their periods of domination. The highlight of his performance was a triple save from Vieira.

It could be worse. Liverpool lost by the same scoreline, away to Fulham. Campbell will now be missing from the trip to Old Trafford, so we have to hope that Keown will be back to full match fitness by then. Apparently the booking picked up by Patrick Vieira today should see him suspended that day too (it's his fifth of the season, including the Community Shield).

Rupe adds...
See this piece for correction to the above regarding a ban for Vieira.