Wenger on the back foot after Toure blow

It was his fierce 75th minute shot that produced a superb save from Jens Lehmann only for Tomasz Radzinski to drive home the equaliser to cancel out Nwankwo Kanu's first-half strike.

Wenger insisted he had no regrets in allowing Jeffers to play against Arsenal. Many clubs put a block on loan players appearing against the club who let them go - but not Arsenal. Wenger explained: "I am against that rule. It is immoral. That means the rich give to the poor but say you cannot play against us, you can't harm us. Loan players should be allowed to play."

Arsenal remain unbeaten but have now drawn seven times this season. If they have a weakness, it is that a team which plays long-ball football and battles with muscle and physical presence can cause them problems. That was Everton's only game plan.

Wenger admitted: "Everton never gave up - and they forced us into a game we do not like."

Everton's astute manager David Moyes watched Arsenal demolish Leeds in the FA Cup at Elland Road on Sunday and decided pressure and harassment was the key. Leicester had secured a 1-1 draw with the same tactics and for Moyes, refinement went out the window as he maximised the resources at his disposal.

Wenger added: "It was the kind if night when you know what to expect after 10 minutes."

In truth, it doesn't take 10 minutes to read a team sheet that includes the name of Duncan Ferguson and realise the nature of the battle ahead . . . long ball, a direct and physical challenge from the towering Scot and let the smaller men, Wayne Rooney and Radzinski, feed off the scraps.

In midfield, deny Fredrik Ljungberg and Robert Pires time or space to weave their spells and match Patrick Vieira and Ray Parlour tackle for tackle.

The formula worked. True, Arsenal had opened the scoring with a typically slick goal - a neat ball from Ljungberg and a deft finish from Kanu. But then Arsenal showed that even one of the best teams in the country are only human. Memories went back to last season when they also went ahead but proceeded to concede two goals and lose their unbeaten league record.

Wenger admitted that the similarities had played on his mind.

He said: "Last night, we just tried to preserve the 1-0 lead. We did not have the confidence to play our normal game. Everton forced us into that.

"They stuck to their plan. But there was a psychological factor in that we did not play our usual game. "

Only a four-goal win over Middlesbrough at Highbury on Saturday will take Arsenal top again, and even then possibly for only 24 hours, but if he is concerned, Wenger has made an art form of covering it up."

"What the boys have done so far is magnificent," he said. "If United do even better, then congratulations to them." Then came a smile. "Three points behind? And only eighteen games left! Listen - there is still a long way to go."