Manchester, Sept 22: Arsenal escaped with a point from a battling 0-0 draw against Manchester United at Old Trafford. Ruud van Nistelrooy smacked a stoppage-time penalty against the bar as 10-man Arsenal escaped with a point against Manchester United on Sunday (September 21).
Arsenal had skipper Patrick Vieira sent off after 80 minutes by referee Steve Bennett who then awarded United a penalty after 92 minutes of the game after he ruled Martin Keown had hauled down Diego Forlan in the box.
That controversial decision came soon after he showed Vieira the red card for the ninth time in his Arsenal career for reacting to a clumsy challenge from Van Nistelrooy after 80 minutes. The Arsenal skipper had been booked three minutes earlier for a foul on Quinton Fortune and has become the 52nd Arsenal player sent off since Arsene Wenger became manager seven years ago this month. Despite the sensational end to the match which led to jostling between the players after the final whistle, it had been played in a good spirit.


The result was enough to take Arsenal back to the top of the table on 14 points, displacing Chelsea on 13. Manchester United stay third, also on 13.


United had the better chances and twice went close to scoring in the first half. The first came after 15 minutes when Ryan Giggs' curling 30-metre free kick hit the far post with Arsenal goalkeeper Jen Lehmann well beaten.


Six minutes later Van Nistelrooy leapt to meet another Giggs free kick at the same post and headed back over the bar with Lehmann stranded.


Results of English premier league soccer matches played on Sunday: Middlesbrough 1 Everton 0 Manchester United 0 Arsenal 0


Played on Saturday: Aston Villa 2 Charlton Athletic 1 Fulham 2 Manchester City 2 Leeds United 0 Birmingham City 2 Liverpool 2 Leicester City 1 Newcastle United 0 Bolton Wanderers 0 Portsmouth 1 Blackburn Rovers 2 Tottenham Hotspur 1 Southampton 3 Wolverhampton Wanderers 0 Chelsea 5


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


Bureau Report