Arsenal go top with 4-2 comeback over Bolton

Arsenal 4 Bolton 2. Arsenal are top. Just 52 days since a humiliating 3-0 home defeat to Chelsea left them 11 points adrift of their London rivals, the Gunners are now ahead of the Blues on goals scored.

They banged in four against Bolton last night in a match that was every bit as thrilling as the scoreline suggests. Not only did it involve a magnificent Arsenal comeback, there were also accusations of 'assault' from Bolton manager Owen Coyle.

Few expected such a tumultuous evening when the two teams emerged at the Emirates Stadium just three days after Arsenal had travelled to Bolton and beaten them 2-0, a victory that extended the Gunners' unbeaten run in the Premier League to seven matches.

But that record looked to be heading for the rocks as Bolton stormed into an incredible 2-0 lead within the half hour. In the eighth minute Mark Davies fired a long, hanging ball into the Arsenal area that neither Abou Diaby nor Gael Clichy could clear, and Gary Cahill was on hand to punish the hosts' hesitancy by lashing the ball past Manuel Almunia.

Arsenal had a couple of chances of their own to level but Cesc Fabregas was denied by Jussi Jaaskelainen in the Bolton goal having sprung the offside trap, and Eduardo sent a sizzling shot just wide on 15 minutes.

Bolton went two up on 28 minutes when Denilson brought down Chung-Yong Lee in the box and Matt Taylor, who'd had a howler against the Gunners on Sunday, stepped up and drilled the ball into the back of the Arsenal net.

Cue Fabregas to launch the Arsenal fightback and prove that this vintage of Gunners is every bit as resilient as that of Tony Adams' double-winning side of 1998 or Thierry Henry's 'Invincibles' of 2004.

Two minutes before half-time Fabregas fed Tomas Rosicky, who shrugged off a challenge from Zat Knight and unleashed a thunderbolt that beat Jaaskelainen all ends up. Then on 52 minutes Arsenal equalised, though in controversial circumstances. William Gallas caught Bolton's Mark Davies in a nasty-looking challenge but referee Alan Wiley waved play on. Andrey Arshavin found Fabregas and the Arsenal skipper did the rest, eluding three Bolton tacklers in a surging run that ended only when he tucked the ball between Jaaskelainen's legs.
 
Fabregas' masterclass continued on 65 minutes when he sent a corner into the Bolton box and Thomas Vermaelen capitalised on shabby defending to rifle home a half-volley from eight yards for Arsenal's third of the evening.

Five minutes from the end Fabregas and Eduardo combined to work Arshavin into space and the Russian completed the comeback as Arsenal finished 4-2 winners.

Bolton manager Owen Coyle, who has now lost his opening two games in charge of his new club, was incensed at Gallas's challenge on Davies. "It was akin  to assault and it changed the game," he stormed. "It's clearly a foul and closer to a red card than anything else. I don't want to sit here and make excuses, but I've seen red cards for less. He's [Davies] gone for an X-ray, but it looks like severe ligament damage."

Gallas might well face disciplinary action from the FA for the tackle but what angered Coyle nearly as much as the challenge itself was the reaction of the Arsenal team as Davies lay writing on agony. "The lad is prostrate on the ground and Arsenal being full of fair play, as we keep hearing, carried on playing to score on the break," said the Bolton manager. "It's a grey area, but Mark was clearly in agony. Maybe, with the atmosphere, people didn't know, but the ball was moving about a bit before they scored."

Wenger, however, while agreeing with Coyle about the tackle, took issue with his Bolton counterpart on Arsenal's sportsmanship. "I'm sorry the tackle was not a good one, and I apologise," said Wenger. "[But] that we went on to play, I think that's unfair. The players went on because they didn't even know what was happening behind. You don't know what's happening behind you. I don't believe you can kick the ball out every time a player is down when you win the ball. That means, if you're 2-1 down, you have to kick the ball out every time a player goes down." ·