Wenger: It would be criminal to give up

The former Arsenal striker was watching his son from the stands. "I told Ian a couple of years ago his lad was going to be a special player," said Keegan.

Wenger said that, on the form shown last night, Wright-Phillips was a serious candidate for a place in the England team. But which place? You know who plays on the right side of midfield where Wright-Phillips is most effective. His goal in the 31st minute last night, struck from 30 yards after Patrick Vieira lost possession, suddenly reminded Arsenal of just what was at stake. After four consecutive wins they were playing as though win number five was simply a formality.

Vieira tried to make amends with a header that went wide, while Ashley Cole, meeting a long cross from Robin Van Persie, forced a scrambling save from David James.

The second half belonged almost entirely to Arsenal who, for all their pressure and possession, seemed to lack the tactical insight to bypass City's impressive centre- back partnership of Richard Dunne and Sylvain Distin. Arsenal clearly missed the subtle inf luence of Dennis Bergkamp, one of a handful of big names absent because of injury.

Nonetheless, they had enough chances to win the game. After James had palmed a volley from Robert Pires over the bar, Arsenal equalised in the 75th minute.

For once City failed to clear the danger in their penalty area. Thierry Henry, under pressure out on the left, hooked the ball over his head and luckily for Arsenal it fell into the path of Fredrik Ljungberg. The little Swede met the ball with a diving header that flew into the net.

Now, could they get all three points? The answer was no, they had simply left it too late. The diligent Van Persie drove a free-kick against the bar and then, with seven minutes remaining, he turned a cross from Jermaine Pennant just wide of a post.

Arsenal ' s players were desperately disappointed afterwards. Perhaps they sensed this result was the turning point in their Premiership season. "The balance between our young players and our experienced players wasn't quite right," said Wenger.

Keegan was delighted his team had once again caused a stir among the title contenders. They are, of course, the only team to beat Chelsea in the Premiership this season and they also took a point from Manchester United at Old Trafford in November.

"We didn't do enough to beat Arsenal but they didn't do enough to beat us either," said Keegan.

That's debatable but, whatever the truth of the matter, the real beneficiaries of two dropped points are Chelsea.