Arsenal go close to another nightmare

Arsenal are still out of sorts but nobody at Highbury yesterday could have accused them of failing to capture the festive flavour of old films and pantomimes. Before beating Leicester City 2-1 they came close to offering their followers a repeat of one of the season's more memorable horror movies, Nightmare on Filbert Street.

Back in August, when they were playing like early championship contenders, Arsenal had lost a 2-0 advantage at Leicester and recovered to lead 3-2 in stoppage time, only to be held to 3-3 by Steve Walsh's header in the 96th minute. Yesterday a high and hilarious own goal by Walsh just before the hour saw Arsenal again go two in front, but then David Seaman produced a moment of goal-keeping farce to bring Leicester back into the match and seriously disturb the sang-froid of the normally imperturbable Arsene Wenger.

"The last 10 minutes were terrible," admitted Arsenal's French manager afterwards. We did not have the physical or the mental strength to keep calm. We did all the wrong things and lost easy balls. When that happens you get a little nervous."

Fortunately for Arsenal, yesterday's referee, David Elleray, saw fit to allow just one minute 54 seconds of added time. At Filbert Street, Graham Barber's long-delayed final whistle had produced angry scenes, with Arsenal protesting, Leicester responding and, inevitably, Ian Wright at the centre of it all.

Wright, who is about to start a two-match suspension, was again substituted yesterday but this time saw no reason to return to the pitch to make a point. In fact compared to the first match this game was largely devoid of passion and argument - and, for the most part, good football.

Perhaps little more should have been expected from an encounter involving two teams for whom the season has gone more than a little flat. Arsenal had lost four of their previous six Premier League fixtures, Leicester had won only two in 10, and the lack of confidence was mutual.

In Arsenal's case the contrast has been all the more stark because of the high standards previously set by Dennis Bergkamp with frequent assistance from Patrick Vieira as well as the occasional reminder of Wright's goal-scoring powers. Vieira, recently recovered from a hamstring injury, was something like his old self but Bergkamp was still not what he was before the clocks went back and Wright continued to look subdued.

Under Martin O'Neill's management, Leicester have always been a hard-working team but at the moment, for the spectator, they are merely hard work. In the eighth minute, Emile Heskey, one of England's best young strikers, met Steve Guppy's corner with a header against the right-hand angle of post and crossbar but received little service thereafter until the game seemed to be as good as lost.

Only when Leicester were two down did O'Neill bring Garry Parker and, a little later, Tony Cottee off the bench to add a touch of variety to his attack. Perhaps he has become over-reliant on the big final push, with tall defenders like Walsh and Matt Elliott advancing to feed off free kicks, corners and long throws-in.

"Grandstand finishes are fantastic and part and parcel of our game, " O'Neill reminded reporters yesterday. "Today the consolation for us was to hear the home crowd baying for the final whistle." But Arsenal took the points all the same and after lying third in the Premier League at the end of September, Leicester have now taken only nine out of a possible 33.

The match always flattered to deceive. When Vieira's tight control enabled him to twist past Stuart Campbell and Neil Lennon in the Leicester penalty area before laying the ball into the path of Marc Overmars, whose shot was not that far wide, Arsenal promised better things but once Pontus Kaamark attached himself to Bergkamp, their football became fitful, their passing fragmented.

Heskey's near miss was followed by some smart saves from Kasey Keller but overall the play stagnated. Then Bergkamp took a free kick on the left nine minutes before half-time and David Platt re-enacted his winning goal against Manchester United seven weeks earlier, timing his leap to get above taller opponents and nod the ball into the far corner of the net.

Twelve minutes into the second half, Steve Bould's punt found Walsh running back towards his own goal with Elliott and Wright not far behind and Keller coming out to meet the danger. Walsh's attempt to lob the ball back to the goalkeeper became a steepling donkey-drop which cleared the goalkeeper and bounced into the roof of the net.

O'Neill, a mite charitably, thought the gusty wind had been partly responsible. Seaman had no such excuse in the 77th minute when he gathered a back pass from Bould and successfully evaded Heskey's challenge but was then stranded by Cottee's interception. Muzzy Izzet slipped the ball square for Lennon's low shot to defeat Lee Dixon's attempt at a goal-line clearance and suddenly Leicester were revived.

They came no closer to saving the game than the moment in the 82nd minute when Walsh tried to chest in Parker's corner only to see the ball bounce back to Seaman off the far post. Nevertheless Highbury retired to its cold turkey more relieved than rejoicing, and now Platt is doubtful for tomorrow's game at Tottenham.

Arsenal: Seaman, Dixon, Winterburn, Vieira, Bould, Platt, Wright (Anelka 74), Bergkamp, Overmars, Keown, Parlour. Subs not used: Manninger, Upson, Marshall, Hughes. Booked: Winterburn. Goals: Platt 36, Walsh 56 og.

Leicester: Keller, Walsh, Izzet, Lennon, Claridge (Cottee 68), Heskey, Savage, Kaamark, Campbell (Parker 59), Elliott, Guppy. Subs not used: Fenton, Arphexad, Wilson. Booked: Campbell, Elliott. Goal: Lennon 77.

Referee: D R Elleray (Harrow-on-the-Hill).