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Bolton threw away a two goal lead as they crashed to a 3-2 defeat at home to ten-man Arsenal. Matt Taylor gave Wanderers a 2-0 half time lead with goals either side of an Abou Diaby red card, but William Gallas, Robin Van Persie and an own goal from Jlloyd Samuel secured all three points for Arsene Wenger's side. Arsenal started the game strongly and should have led inside five minutes, but Robin Van Persie shot straight at Ali Al-Habsi following good approach play from Alexander Hleb. Nicklas Bendtner had another good chance for the Gunners but his shot was well blocked by Gary Cahill. The visitors were made to pay for their early missed chances on 14 minutes as Taylor headed past Manuel Almunia. El-Hadji Diouf's throw picked out the darting run of Gretar Steinsson who's cross was met well by a powerful downwards header from Taylor, his first goal for the club. Arsenal almost equalised within minutes. Bolton failed to clear a corner and Kolo Toure's effort from the edge of the area glanced agonisingly wide of Al-Habsi's goal after taking a deflection en route to goal. Just after the half hour, Wenger's side were reduced to ten men as Diaby was shown the red card following a wreckless high tackle from which Steinsson required lengthly treatment before coming back into play. With a man advantage, Wanderers doubled their lead two minutes before the break. Gavin McCann won possession on the edge of the Gunners' area and Diouf picked out Taylor who's shot deflected off Gallas and into the bottom corner. Having gone without a goal in their previous four games in all competitions, Gary Megson's side held a two goal lead going into the break. Spurred on by their first half performance, Bolton started the second period brightly and almost added to their lead just two minutes after the restart. Diouf's corner picked out Taylor, but his shot went just wide of goal following a deflection off Cahill. After losing against a ten-man Wigan earlier this month, Bolton looked more confident against the ten man of Arsenal and were passing the ball around well. Cahill almost added the third just before the hour but his header from Taylor's corner was cleared off the line after a good reaction save from Almunia. Wenger brought Emmanuel Adebayor and Theo Walcott on and Bolton were made to pay for missed chances as Arsenal got themselves a foothold in the game with 63 minutes on the clock. Van Persie's corner seemed to beat everybody in the box but Gallas stole in unmarked at the back post to give Arsenal hope. Hope soon turned into reality just six minutes later when the Gunners equalised. Hleb made a good run into the area but was brought down by a clumsy sliding challenge from Cahill. Holland international forward Van Persie stepped up to take the resulting penalty and beat Al-Habsi all ends up, sending the Oman goalkeeper the wrong way. Bolton were now on the slide and there was only one team that looked like winning the game. Captain Ivan Campo wasted a rare effort for the hosts as Arsenal's ten men were now dominating possession and chances. Wanderers substitute Nicky Hunt was forced off the field just three minutes after coming on after picking up an apparant dislocated shoulder. Van Persie had two great chances to win the game for Arsenal but fired both of his efforts into the stands, including one from close range. Despite playing an hour a man down, Arsenal completed their comeback in stoppage time as Fabregas' effort took two deflections and finding its way into the net, with the last touch coming off an unfortunate Samuel. Referee Chris Foy blew for full time moments after the restart, allowing Arsenal fans to celebrate their first league victory at the Reebok since 2002. With results elsewhere going against Megson's side, Wanderers now look all but down, sitting in 18th place in the Premier League, four points adrift of safety with only six games to go. |
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