London, Oct 27: Arsenal go top of Premier League with 1-1 at Charlton. A superbly struck free kick by Thierry Henry sent unbeaten Arsenal back to the top of the Premier League on Sunday (October 26) after a 1-1 draw at Charlton Athletic. The France striker notched his 10th goal in all competitions this season with a 40th-minute equaliser after Paolo Di Canio had fired Charlton ahead from the penalty spot. Arsenal, who have 24 points, are one point ahead of Chelsea with Manchester United, surprisingly beaten 3-1 at home by Fulham on Saturday, in third place on 22. Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger was happy to take home a point after conceding his side had not hit top gear at The Valley, where they had enjoyed 3-0 wins in the last two seasons. "It was a difficult game. Charlton played very tight. They worked very hard and are a tough team to beat," Wenger told Sky Sports television. "The penalty had one merit. It woke us up and we upped the pace and we had a good period in the final 20 minutes of the first half. But we did not find our second gear to put them under pressure again. We did not create many chances.


"I feel we had great spirit and the players are disappointed that we did not win today. But overall I cannot fault them because they gave everything."


Arsenal, looking to bounce back after Tuesday's 2-1 Champions League defeat at Dynamo Kiev, made two changes from the side beaten in the Ukraine with Fredrik Ljungberg and Dennis Bergkamp starting in place of Edu and Sylvain Wiltord.


Both sides spurned half-chances in a bright opening but it was Charlton, with three successive league wins behind them, who went ahead on 27 minutes.


Arsenal defender Lauren was, somewhat harshly, penalised for tripping Matt Holland and Di Canio cheekily chipped home the penalty after Jens Lehmann had committed by diving to his left. It was the Italian striker's first league goal for Charlton since joining on a one-year-deal in August but it was his only meaningful contribution after he was substituted just before the break.


Henry went close to an equaliser when he cut in from the right and unleashed a curling left-foot strike that beat goalkeeper Dean Kiely but crashed against the left upright.


The Frenchman made no mistake six minutes before the break, though, when Scott Parker fouled Ray Parlour five metres outside the penalty area. Henry curled the free kick around the wall and into the top right-hand corner of Kiely's goal.


Neither side could gain the upper hand in the second half. Charlton defender Hermann Hreidarsson went the closest to a winner though, his header on 68 minutes into the ground forcing Lehmann into a fine save.


P W D L F A Pts 1. Arsenal 10 7 3 0 19 8 24 2. Chelsea 10 7 2 1 20 9 23 3. Manchester United 10 7 1 2 18 6 22 4. Birmingham City 10 5 4 1 9 5 19 5. Fulham 10 5 3 2 20 13 18 6. Southampton 10 4 4 2 10 5 16 7. Manchester City 10 4 3 3 20 12 15 8. Newcastle United 10 4 3 3 15 12 15 9. Charlton Athletic 10 4 3 3 14 13 15 10. Liverpool 10 4 2 4 15 11 14 11. Portsmouth 10 3 3 4 11 12 12 12. Tottenham Hotspur 10 3 3 4 10 13 12 13. Everton 10 2 4 4 12 14 10 14. Aston Villa 10 2 4 4 8 12 10 15. Wolverhampton Wanderers 10 2 3 5 7 21 9 16. Blackburn Rovers 10 2 2 6 15 19 8 17. Middlesbrough 10 2 2 6 7 15 8 18. Bolton Wanderers 10 1 5 4 8 19 8 19. Leeds United 10 2 2 6 9 21 8 20. Leicester City 10 1 2 7 14 21 5


Bureau Report