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Arsenal in goalless stalemate with Man United
(Reuters)
Updated: 2006-01-04 09:08

LONDON, Jan 3 (Reuters) - Arsenal and arch rivals Manchester United fought out a tense 0-0 draw on Tuesday that moved Chelsea closer to a second consecutive Premier League title.

Arsenal's goalkeeper Jens Lehmann (R) exchanges words with Manchester United's Ruud Van Nistelrooy during their English Premier League soccer match at Highbury in London January 3 2006.

Arsenal's goalkeeper Jens Lehmann (R) exchanges words with Manchester United's Ruud Van Nistelrooy during their English Premier League soccer match at Highbury in London January 3 2006. [Reuters]

There were few scoring chances in a passionate affair at Highbury, with the two sides packing midfield and seeming to worry more about avoiding defeat than taking maximum points.

Second-placed United will have more regrets, though, after the draw left them 13 points behind runaway leaders Chelsea.

Arsenal's title hopes were realistically already over, they now trail Chelsea by a whopping 24 points in fifth position.

There were goalmouth melees at both ends in the closing minutes while Arsenal had a penalty appeal waved away when Spanish midfielder Cesc Fabregas went down under a challenge by United's England defender Gary Neville.

But the spectacle fell short of what had been expected between two sides whose encounters had become the sharpest in English football.

Their last league meeting at Highbury before Arsenal move to the Emirates Stadium next season was also their first since both former captains moved on, Arsenal's Patrick Vieira to Juventus and United's Roy Keane to Celtic.

Arsenal, starting with an unfamiliar five-man midfield and Thierry Henry as a lone striker, applied the early pressure without carving any clearcut chances.

Alexander Hleb miskicked an early Robert Pires cross while Fabregas shot wide from the edge of the area after United tried to clear an Henry free kick.

Pires was the next to try his luck with an angled shot that was palmed away by Edwin van der Sar while Henry whistled another free kick narrowly wide of the Dutch keeper's post.

If Arsenal were lacking a killer pass, United were missing the inventiveness of the absent Paul Scholes and Wayne Rooney's usual creative spark. Yet they still conjured up the best scoring chance in a spell of pressure before halftime.
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