Glasgow, Aug 03: French midfielder Patrick Vieira returned to the Arsenal team as they took on Celtic in a pre-season friendly in Glasgow which ended 1-1 on Saturday (August 2). The Arsenal captain, recently rumoured to be on the verge of a move across London to big-spending Chelsea, had been missing since April and came on as a second half substitute. Celtic had the first chance to score when Shaun Maloney raced onto a loose ball in tyhe Arsenal defence but saw his low shot saved by goalkeeper Jens Lehmann's legs. A clever pass by Ashley Cole sent Francis Jeffers through on goal but the Arsenal striker dragged his shot wide of Magnus Hedman's goal when he should have scored. Celtic players and fans were angered by some rough and reckless challenges by Arsenal captain Ray Parlour which were seen as being over-enthusiastic in a "friendly" match.


Bulgarian Stilian Petrov was a constant threat to Arsenal and almost deserved more when he carved himself an opening, only to see his low shot smothered by Lehmann.


Celtic took the lead after 57 minutes thanks to a fine piece of skill by Liam Miller, who used his chest and head to control the ball before swivelling to score from seven metres.


Viera came on as the home fans celebrated and soon helped to set up a chance which Jeffers flashed wide from Parlou's pass. Arsenal levelled in the 71st minute after a powerful run by Kanu, who forced the ball across the line when his attemted cross bounced back to him off defender Joos Valgaeren.


Bureau Report