Advantage Arsenal

MANCHESTER UNITED missed a golden opportunity to close the gap on Arsenal at the top of the Premiership yesterday, conceding a late goal to draw 1-1 against Manchester City while the Gunners were also held 1-1 by Newcastle.

In a day of high drama, United took an early lead against their local rivals through Ruud van Nistelrooy, and looked to be cruising to an easy win which would have brought them level with Arsenal on points.

But they missed a host of chances, living to regret their mistakes when Shaun Goater nodded home an 86th minute equaliser nine seconds after he took the pitch as a substitute.

"It is a blow," admitted United manager Alex Ferguson. "We spurned our opportunities."

Passions were equally high later yesterday at St James' Park where Newcastle were looking to push the leaders all the way to the wire by retaking third place from Chelsea.

However, in the 35th minute Arsenal took the lead through the prolific Thierry Henry, his 18th Premiership goal of the season, and the Londoners looked to be cruising to a win.

But a moment of genius from Newcastle's French midfielder Laurent Robert early in the second half saw him drive through the Gunners' defence and shoot past David Seaman.

In a bizarre twist, Robert then got himself sent off within five minutes of his equaliser, picking up a pair of bookings inside two minutes, for a foul and then for obstructing Dennis Bergkamp in taking a free kick.

Newcastle manager Sir Bobby Robson was enraged at referee Neale Barry's decision, labelling it "extremely harsh" and blaming Bergkamp for taking the free kick when Robert was in the way.

"I think he deliberately kicked the ball against him. I think it was unsporting behaviour," he fumed.

"I've been in to see the referee. We've had a nice chat, obviously different opinions, but football is about opinions, isn't it? All I said was I think he could have handled it differently.

"Bergkamp wasn't trying to play the ball to anybody. He kicked the ball against Laurent I've seen other players do that, and I don't like it.

"There was an incident last week in Scotland where the same actually happened and the referee booked the guy who took the kick, booked the guy for unsporting behaviour.

"You saw what 52,000 people thought about Bergkamp they were all wearing black and white shirts, I know that but we lost a big player.

"And we're talking about seconds. I'm saying to the referee the best law I've ever seen is commonsense and I just think in that situation not on his general performance, but on that situation he just didn't apply a bit of realism to the situation, he applies the letter of the law.

"That's a big game that is, that's a championship game. If we won that game, we're two points from Arsenal basically. The title is open. It's not so open now, so we've lost a big chance, not through the team."

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger, however, was adamant that Bergkamp had done nothing wrong and that Barry had taken the only course of action open to him.

"Is it forbidden to take a quick free-kick?" he said. "I think it's logical when you have a free-kick that you try first to play it quickly.

"It's not what Dennis did that is forbidden, it's the fact that you cannot stand in the way of a guy who wants to take a free-kick because it cancels the advantage of the free-kick.

"It's unfortunate, but what can I say? The referee had not much choice. He gave him a yellow card and that's what it is."

Wenger was disappointed that his side had not taken full advantage of their numerical advantage as a pulsating contest drew to a tense finish, but satisfied that, after Manchester United's 1-1 draw with derby rivals City earlier in the day, the gap between his side and their nearest rivals remained at three points.

"We would like to have a 30-point cushion, but unfortunately, it's not possible," he said. "But we are challenged and that makes it interesting for everybody, and I would say as well that the team is ready for the challenge and you can see that in the games.

"We know we have the quality to go all along and to do very well."

Robson has always insisted that the championship would be a two-horse race between the Gunners and Manchester United, and although he has seen little to change his opinion in recent weeks, he is looking forward to the most exciting run-in for years.

"It's just great," he said. "Just enjoy the championship. It's going to be fantastic.

"You don't write Chelsea out Chelsea are in form, we're in form. Arsenal look as if they might just shade it, but you don't know from now until the end of the season."

Despite their host of missed chances at Old Trafford, Man Utd could even count themselves lucky with such an outcome.

In an astonishing last few minutes, after equalising, Goater put the ball back in the United net again, only to see it disallowed for a handball by Nicolas Anelka.

Blues manager Kevin Keegan, so often criticised as tactically naive, was the architect of United's downfall as late substitutes Shaun Wright Phillips, Ali Benarbia and Goater combined to snatch the goal.

"If it worked like that every week you would be delighted," Keegan said of the substitutions.

He added: "If Arsene Wenger or Alex Ferguson had done it, they would have been hailed as a tactical genius, with me it's just luck."

"It was a fairytale for Shaun," said the City boss.

"People have asked whether he has a future but his contract doesn't run out until 2004. He is loved by the fans and the players and is held in great respect by the staff.

"I have spoken to him and told him he might only get cameo roles in the future but I would be delighted to see him stay with us. The only person who will make the decision to leave Manchester City is Shaun Goater."

United boss Alex Ferguson admitted the visitors had deserved a draw, even though his side should have wrapped up victory long before Goater's late strike.

Having taken the lead after 18 minutes when Ruud van Nistelrooy swept home his 27th goal of the campaign from Ryan Giggs' cross, United contrived to squander a series of excellent chances.

Ferguson also thought Wiley should have awarded a penalty when Beckham was sent sprawling by David Sommeil in the opening period, an argument backed up by television replays.

"I have seen the playback and it was a stonewall penalty, no question about it," said the United chief.

"The boy took David down and the referee refusing to give the decision was decisive."

Ferguson admitted his team had not played with their usual fluency, even though skipper Roy Keane turned in an outstanding midfield performance, and lamented their inability to build on van Nistelrooy's opener.

"We could have been two or three up by the time we scored," he said. "In the first half we played really well but then we started to give the ball away and that carelessness cost us.

"This is a disappointing result for us and I am concerned that we have dropped these two points. But these things happen in football and now we must pick ourselves up and go again."