Tuesday August 21st

Arsenal 1-2 Leeds United

By Bill Pierce, PA Sport

www.sportinglife.com

Lee Bowyer and Danny Mills were both deservedly sent off for second bookable offences in a stormy final 13 minutes as Leeds grimly held on at Highbury.

Leeds secured their first win at Highbury in the Premiership since 1994 after immediately imposing themselves on the game with a physical opening burst as they incurred four bookings within the opening 18 minutes.

They were pegged back by Sylvain Wiltord's 32nd-minute equaliser, just three minutes after Ian Harte had given the visitors the lead with a quickly-taken free-kick that caught David Seaman off guard.

However, Mark Viduka kept his head as he struck the winner on 51 minutes and even though Bowyer, who departed with an angry outburst at referee Jeff Winter, and Mills were both dismissed, they still had the character to hang on.

It is a fixture littered with controversy over recent seasons and there was little surprise that it took 23 seconds for the first foul, by Viduka on Robert Pires.

The first booking followed seven minutes later, with Eirik Bakke being cautioned, and the names of Olivier Dacourt, Bowyer and Mills quickly followed.

Amid the hefty challenges, Arsenal started to impose themselves as Patrick Vieira and Sol Campbell, on his home debut, led the way.

The sparks were provided by the French duo of Pires and Wiltord, who forced Nigel Martyn into a diving save in the second minute and linked superbly with compatriot Thierry Henry.

After Adams' header was tipped over and Ray Parlour slipped his shot past the post after a fine counter-attack, Henry twice set up his strike partner to test out Martyn's reflexes.

Leeds were making little impact with anything apart from their tackles.

But when they were awarded a free-kick on the edge of the penalty area after Mills was upended, Seaman was lining up his wall with Parlour facing the wrong way when Harte curled his shot inside the far post.

It took Arsenal just three minutes to equalise, with Ashley Cole's deflected cross-shot being met with a diving header by Wiltord.

Back came Leeds, with Viduka wasting two clear opportunities and a suspicion of handball against Mills going unpunished, as the game opened up.

While Robert Pires' forward runs were piercing through Leeds' defences, it was Vieira's influence that seemed to concern O'Leary most.

When Alan Smith went off with an ankle injury two minutes after the restart, on came David Batty rather than Robbie Keane.

Leeds bolstered their midfield bite, leaving Viduka to lead the charge at the front, while Kewell, who headed one chance wide, and Bowyer to attempt to join him.

Kewell went past Lauren on the left flank but the real surprise was the alarming ease with which Viduka then brushed past Adams before placing his shot inside the post.

Batty's introduction also served to stifle Arsenal's attempts at a second recovery, with space at a premium in midfield, and frustration levels grew.

While Mills was treading a thin line after his first-half caution, Henry, Cole and Pires joined him in the book in a second spate of yellow cards.

However, it was Bowyer - booked earlier for a foul on Lauren - who was dismissed after his second yellow card for a trip on Cole.

The midfielder went virtually nose to nose with the official as he angrily debated the decision before storming off the pitch.

He was soon joined in the dressing-room by Mills as the defender fouled Cole, with whom he had a running battle all game, and then kicked the ball against his England team-mate to earn his second booking.

However, even with Dennis Bergkamp, Giovanni van Bronckhorst and Francis Jeffers all on, Arsenal could not take advantage of their numerical superiority as Jonathan Woodgate and Gary Kelly manned the barricades.

Teams:

Arsenal: Seaman, Lauren, Campbell, Adams, Cole, Ljungberg (Jeffers 77), Vieira, Parlour (Bergkamp 66), Pires, Henry, Wiltord (van Bronckhorst 77).

Subs Not Used: Grimandi, Wright.

Booked: Henry, Cole, Pires, Jeffers.

Goals: Wiltord 32.

Leeds: Martyn, Mills, Ferdinand, Matteo, Harte, Bowyer, Bakke (Kelly 89), Dacourt, Kewell (Woodgate 89), Viduka, Smith (Batty 47).

Subs Not Used: Keane, Milosevic.

Sent Off: Bowyer (79), Mills (87).

Goals: Harte 29, Viduka 53.

Att: 38,062

Ref: J Winter (Stockton-on-Tees).

More reports can be found at