Stoke: Arsenal missed a chance to pull away from Newcastle in the race for third place in the English Premier League, drawing 1-1 with Stoke on Saturday.
The Gunners went behind in the 10th minute at Britannia Stadium when Matthew Etherington picked out Peter Crouch who rose above the defense to head firmly past Wojciech Szczesny.
Premier League top scorer Robin van Persie equalised in the 15th, running through the defense to meet a cross from Tomas Rosicky for his 28th league goal.
Arsenal could have gone six points clear of Newcastle in the fight for an automatic Champions League spot next season.
Arsenal remains third, four points ahead of Newcastle which lost 4-0 at relegation-threatened Wigan.
Arsene Wenger made two changes from the Arsenal team that drew with Chelsea last week. Gervinho and Yossi Benayoun replaced the injured Theo Walcott and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, while former Gunner Jermaine Pennant returned to the Stoke side.
Arsenal had lost on three of its previous four visits to Stoke but had two great early chances - the first in the sixth minute when Van Persie played in Rosicky, but his shot lacked power and was held by Asmir Begovic.
The same duo combined moments later as Rosicky picked out Van Persie at the back post, and his header drew a terrific save from Begovic low at his near post.
Having survived those scares, Stoke went down the other end and took the lead through Crouch who planted his header beyond Szczesny.
Arsenal hit back strongly and Van Persie claimed his 35th goal of the season, scoring from inside the six-yard box.
The visitors continued to threaten Begovic`s goal, with Laurent Koscielny heading over the bar and Gervinho missing a cross completely six yards out before ending a fine run with a wild shot.
Arsenal was grateful to Szczesny for some alert goalkeeping in the opening minutes of the second half as he twice punched away dangerous crosses, one from Etherington and one from Pennant.
At the other end, Van Persie got his head to Bacary Sagna`s cross 10 yards out, but could not beat Begovic.
Bureau Report
By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts.
Cookies Setting
By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device and the processing of information obtained via those cookies (including about your preferences, device and online activity) by us and our commercial partners to enhance site navigation, personalise ads, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. More information can be found in our Cookies and Privacy Policy. You can amend your cookie settings to reject non-essential cookies by clicking Cookie Settings below.
Manage Consent Preferences
Strictly Necessary Cookies
These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling in forms. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not then work or you may not be able to login.
Functional Cookies
These cookies enable the website to provide enhanced functionality and personalisation. They may be set by us or by third party providers whose services we have added to our pages. If you do not allow these cookies then some or all of these services may not function properly.
Targeting Cookies
These cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They are also used to limit the number of times you see an advert as well as help measure the effectiveness of an advertising campaign. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.
Performance Cookies
These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies we may not know when you have visited our site, and may not be able to monitor its performance.