Gunners miss out on top spot

Arsenal missed out on the chance to return to the top of the Premier League as they were held to a 0-0 draw with Portsmouth.

Arsenal held to South Coast stalemate

Arsenal missed out on the chance to return to the top of the Premier League as they were held to a 0-0 draw with Portsmouth at Fratton Park. The Gunners went into the game well aware that only a win would be enough to overhaul Manchester United, who defeated Sunderland earlier on Boxing Day, at the top of table but the victory proved to be out of reach. The first half was a messy affair with both sides struggling to create a clear cut opportunity and Pompey goalkeeper David James produced the most impressive act as he comfortably stretched his frame to clasp a goal-bound effort from Tomas Rosicky. After the break the game continued in the same style, with the tight dimensions of Fratton Park proving unsupportive to free flowing football. Pompey striker Benjani Mwaruwari had the best chance of the game with 15 minutes remaining when he rounded Arsenal goalkeeper Manuel Almunia, but his control let him down - in a move which epitomised the game - and Gael Clichy recovered to snub out the danger. Arsenal appeared unwilling to settle for a point as William Gallas and Rosicky missed good chances, but the winning goal eluded Arsene Wenger's side as Pompey stoutly secured the stalemate.

Strong start

Arsenal began strongly with Emmanuel Eboue causing trouble down the right flank. His first-minute cross just eluded the head of Cesc Fabregas right in front of goal but a one-two with Emmanuel Adebayor saw the Frenchman fire wildly over. His next effort, from the edge of the box, was much better but home goalkeeper David James was able to get behind his low drive. Pompey were guilty of playing too many nervous long balls in the opening exchanges but they soon calmed down once the recalled Kanu and top scorer Benjani began to link up regularly. A botched Sulley Muntari free-kick led to the best chance of the first half. Muntari's second attempt at delivering the ball into a crowded box was brought down by Papa Bouba Diop, who lost no time in firing in a powerful drive that Almunia did well to divert round his right-hand post. At the other end, James showed he was still capable of a good-looking save when he threw himself skywards to stop Rosicky's curled effort from reaching the top corner in the 37th minute. Niko Kranjcar fired an effort just wide at the other end having neatly turned Bacary Sagna to tee up his favoured left foot but the Croatian could not find the finish.

Limited thrills

There was a nervous moment for the home fans early in the second half when Hermann Hreidarsson made a full-blooded challenge on Kolo Toure in the Portsmouth area. There was no margin for error but although the Arsenal man went down, the Iceland international had made enough contact with the ball for the liking of referee Steve Bennett, who then booked Lauren - another of Pompey's ex-Arsenal men - for tugging Rosicky back by the shirt. Almunia was required to get behind efforts from Benjani and then Kranjcar as the home side continued to believe the evening could yet be settled in their favour. Indeed, Benjani, with eight goals to his name already this season, almost made it happen in the 75th minute when Kanu's superb through-ball put him clear of the Arsenal back line. Almunia came out to meet him and succeeded in slowing down his path forwards as the man from Zimbabwe had to veer off at an angle. And that was enough for Clichy, who used his prodigious pace to intercept and the chance evaporated as soon as it was clear that referee Bennett regarded the challenge as legal.

Late chances

Gallas has also been a source of late goals and might have won it for the Gunners with three minutes remaining after he controlled a Fabregas shot and fired goalwards on the turn from six yards. The ball flew just over and Portsmouth were fortunate referee Bennett did not penalise Sol Campbell for has late challenge on the Frenchman. Four minutes of added time followed but the game was destined to remain scoreless when Rosicky scuffed a great final chance wide.

Portsmouth	Team Statistics	Arsenal
0	Goals	0
0	1st Half Goals	0
4	Shots on Target	2
3	Shots off Target	8
4	Blocked Shots	5
4	Corners	7
18	Fouls	11
6	Offsides	7
2	Yellow Cards	1
0	Red Cards	0
69.2	Passing Success	82
40	Tackles	23
85	Tackles Success	69.6
38.5	Possession	61.5
44.3	Territorial Advantage	55.7