Gunners blow chance with no-score Sunderland draw

Arsenal blew the chance to close the gap on Manchester United at the top of the Premier league when they were held at home to a goalless draw by Sunderland.

The Gunners could have ended Saturday night just a point behind United, beaten at Chelsea in midweek, but they now lie three points off the pace with the leaders travelling to Liverpool later today where they will hope to double that advantage.

On Tuesday it had been United boss Alex Ferguson left fuming by refereeing decisions that he believed cost his side points against Chelsea. Yesterday it was Arsene Wenger who struggled to contain his ire after two crucial decisions went against Arsenal that could have altered the outcome of the match.

Andrey Arshavin had a goal disallowed for offside when replays showed he was onside and the Russian striker was later bundled over in the Sunderland box by Titus Bramble in what appeared to be a clear-cut penalty.

"I am too disgusted to speak about it frankly," said a furious Wenger, adding: "I believe Arshavin was not offside but what can you do? If you cancel goals for offside when it is not offside it is difficult to win football games.

"It is not the first time. What can you say? We put a lot of commitment in the game.

"These kind of things have too big an impact on the Premier League and we are deeply disappointed. We are very frustrated because we gave a lot.

"Unfortunately we could not score, we tried everything but Sunderland defended very well."

Unlike Alex Ferguson, who accused referee Martin Atkinson of not being 'fair', words that have landed him in trouble with the FA, Wenger was more measured in his criticism but strident nonetheless.

"It is my job to deliver football games and the referee's job to give the right decisions. We have to take it on the chin and move on to the next game but we feel as though justice has not been done," he said.

And there was more potentially bad news for Wenger with the news that midfielder Jack Wilshere is a doubt for Tuesday's Champions League clash with Barcelona after suffering an ankle injury against Sunderland.

"Wilshere has an ankle problem but we will see how he responds to treatment on Sunday," said Wenger. "He will be out of training maybe a day, then on Monday maybe back."

With Robin Van Persie and Theo Walcott already definitely out of the tie, and Cesc Fabregas no more than 50-50, the loss of Wilshere would a devastating blow for the Gunners.

In other games, third-placed Manchester City beat Wigan 1-0 to move to within seven points of rivals United. The victory, which sent Wigan to the foot of the table, came courtesy of a shocking blunder by Ali Al Habsi.

The Wigan keeper allowed David Silva's shot to squirm through his legs, even helping the ball on its way into his net. City boss Roberto Mancini later dedicated the win to Kolo Toure, who earlier this week tested positive for a ‘specified substance'.

"This victory is for Kolo. It is a bad moment for him but we love him like a man, like a player," said Mancini, adding: Kolo is a fantastic man. He is a serious professional player but he is not feeling good."

West Ham moved out of the drop zone with a convincing 3-0 defeat of Stoke, while there were also wins for West Brom, Bolton, Fulham and Everton, who defeated Newcastle 2-1 at St James's Park with Phil Jagielka scoring the winner. ·