Ljunberg brace earns points for Gunners

Charlton 1 Arsenal 3

Arsenal maintained their dogged pursuit of Chelsea as Fredrik Ljungberg led by example and Robin van Persie came of age in a vital victory at Charlton.

The pressure was on the Gunners before kick-off at The Valley, with Chelsea having temporarily extended their lead to eight points by winning at Liverpool.

However, despite a relatively inexperienced line-up and amid pouring rain, Arsenal showed they will not give up their title without a determined fight.

Even when Talal El Karkouri equalised Ljungberg’s opener on the stroke of half-time with a superb free-kick, they refused to buckle.

Just three minutes after the restart, Ljungberg struck again before Holland Under-21 international Van Persie showed his rich potential with his side’s third goal.

There was the worrying sight of Sol Campbell limping off in the closing stages, raising fitness fears ahead of Tuesday’s game against Manchester City.

But, while Ljungberg excelled along with Cesc Fabregas and Patrick Vieira, it was Van Persie who perhaps best summed up his side’s display, having started hesitantly but then grown in influence.

His introduction to life in the Premiership has been mixed at best, with a car crash and few first-team chances to contend with.

However, he looked every inch the long-term replacement for Dennis Bergkamp as Arsenal coped with the absence of not only the Dutchman, but also Lauren, Jose Antonio Reyes, Gilberto Silva and Edu.

They were also up against an in-form Charlton team, with four wins and a draw in their past five league games.

The home side certainly made a bright start, with Manuel Almunia required to produce a neat reaction save inside the first minute from Dennis Rommedahl.

However, Arsenal increasingly came into the game as Thierry Henry evaded the offside trap to latch on to Kolo Toure’s through-ball only for Dean Kiely to save his snap-shot.

As the rain started to pour down, Arsenal continued to press, although Van Persie was at this stage being denied the space in which to link up effectively with Henry.

Then again, there is far more to this effective Charlton side than just hustle and bustle, for they were also showing considerable assurance in possession, with some neat moves out of defence.

While Almunia was fortunate to escape punishment when he dropped a seemingly routine catch, it was left to the experienced figure of Swedish international Ljungberg to lead by example.

With 10 minute left before half-time, Ashley Cole won back the ball with persistence and Arsenal immediately sped on to counter-attack.

Van Persie fed Vieira on the overlap, but even when the Frenchman cut the ball back to Ljungberg, the Swede was still standing with his back to goal.

However, despite the close attentions of at least two defenders, he produced an instinctive turn before sweeping his shot past Kiely from close-range, via a slight deflection off Danny Murphy.

That should have sealed Arsenal’s half-time lead, only for El Karkouri to respond by striking a thunderbolt free-kick in injury-time to bring the home side level.

Arsene Wenger was angered, presumably by the decision to award the free-kick for a foul by Vieira on Murphy, and continued his remonstrations with referee Mark Halsey as the teams left the pitch.

Arsenal were nevertheless back in the lead just three minutes after the restart and again it was Ljungberg who provided the cutting edge.

While the Swede’s finish was assured, he was still indebted to Van Persie for nipping ahead of the worryingly static figure of Jonathan Fortune, and Fabregas, who played an inspired flick into his path.

Charlton were once again stung into a vigorous response, with Rommedahl increasingly giving Cole a hard time down Charlton’s right flank.

But, while Jerome Thomas had the ball in the net, Shaun Bartlett had been flagged offside several seconds beforehand and it was Arsenal who created the better chances.

Bartlett had to head Henry’s free-kick off his own goal-line, but the visitors were not to be denied for much longer.

With Charlton’s defence failing to cope with a clearance by keeper Almunia, Van Persie was left clear to fire a superb shot into the far corner from a tight angle with 23 minutes left.

Arsenal thereafter controlled the game to maintain their five-point deficit behind Chelsea. Jose Mourinho’s side continue to lead the way, but the Gunners are hanging on in there.