Arsenal held by brave Bolton at the Reebok

Arsenal's Premier League 2012 frustrations continued last night, as Bolton held the Gunners to a stalemate at the Reebok Stadium last night. The Gunners' strikeforce were guilty of spurning several opportunities to earn the 3 points, and a spirited Bolton defence held out for the draw.

The Gunners started the game brightly, with Bolton on the back foot for most of the first half. After their weekend 3-2 comeback victory over Aston Villa in the FA Cup, spirits were high in the Arsenal camp, who started with an attacking looking Walcott, Oxlade-Chamberlain and Robin van Persie strike force. But that would not be sufficient, as Bolton managed their first clean sheet in a Premier League match in 12 attempts.


In just the ninth minute, Robin van Persie should have broken the deadlock, but for the excellent clearance off the line by Bolton centre back David Wheater.


Bolton had a short spell of pressure, as David N'gog had two chances to break the deadlock. The first, saw David Wheater turn provider for the Frenchman, who with just Szczesny to beat, hit the ball wide of the post.


Theo Walcott would throw away several chances in the second half, whilst Aaron Ramsey also had a great chance to score on the 65th minute.


Late on, Robin van Persie had the chance to wrap up the 3 points, but he spurned a glorious opportunity that bounced off the crossbar. 


"We feel we have dropped two points because we had the chances to win the game," said Wenger. "We were a bit unlucky because we hit the bar, the post. We took all the risks and in the end we took the gamble to play with four strikers."