Arsenal slip further back into chasing pack

English FA Premiership/ Arsenal 1 Newcastle Utd 1: For Arsenal, the home fires continue to flicker fitfully. Having briefly burned bright against Liverpool their form at the Emirates reverted to a dull glow as Newcastle became the fourth side this season to hold them to a draw at the new stadium.

Glenn Roeder's team, revived by the return of Kieron Dyer in attack and Shay Given in goal, kept faith with the pattern established by Aston Villa, Middlesbrough and Everton, who had all forced 1-1 draws after taking the lead. In fact Saturday's game bore uncanny similarity to the Everton match in that Arsenal conceded a well-taken yet preventable goal and eventually drew level with a stunning free-kick only to be denied by a combination of agile goalkeeping and indifferent finishing.

As a result Arsene Wenger's side has slipped further back into the pack pursuing Manchester United and Chelsea more in hope than anticipation. Arsenal are now 12 points behind United and nine adrift of the champions and their match in hand is small consolation for the way their Premiership campaign has begun to stall.

A year ago they were in a similar position after a dozen games, lying fourth 11 points behind the leaders, Chelsea. But then they had won all six home fixtures and were being let down by away results. If the recent fractious defeat at West Ham is repeated in either of their forthcoming games, at Bolton and Fulham, Wenger will have a task on his hands keeping Arsenal in the top four.

Tempting though it is to equate the team's uneven home form with the move from Highbury the reality is the switch has caught Arsenal in a period of transition only temporarily offset by last season's progress to the Champions League final.

Bereft of the experience of Dennis Bergkamp and Robert Pires, Wenger's young side are still bedding down and in need of Thierry Henry's tutelage. But Henry has been playing non-stop for Arsenal and, in the World Cup, for France since the beginning of last season and, at 29, needs to pace himself.

With tomorrow's Champions League encounter against Hamburg in mind Wenger intended giving Henry a rest after the player's midweek exertions for France in a friendly with Greece. "You cannot play Sunday, Wednesday, Saturday and Tuesday," Wenger explained. "It is impossible for one man."

Impossible or not, Henry had to come on for the second half on Saturday after Robin van Persie suffered a leg injury which could keep him out tomorrow night.

In doing so Henry underlined Wenger's dilemma. He needs to rest his best player but keeping him on the bench on Saturday might well have handed Newcastle one of the season's least likely victories because, until Henry appeared, Arsenal had shown little of the wit or subtlety needed to break down a packed defence. Apart from some long-range shots from van Persie they did not look like matching the goal scored by Dyer on the half-hour.

Dyer, plagued by hamstring problems, was starting for the first time since April and reinvigorated a side which previously had not found the net in nearly five hours of league football. His pace, moreover, was precisely what was needed as Newcastle set about containing Arsenal while seeking to catch them on the break.

One such moment presented itself after 30 minutes when Obafemi Martins nodded Nolberto Solano's long ball out of defence down to Dyer. For once Arsenal's cover was thin and, as Emmanuel Eboue held off, Dyer took the ball square before beating Jens Lehmann with a precise shot inside the right-hand post.

Enter Henry and gaps began to appear in the black-and-white thicket but the agility and anticipation of Given was equal to everything until, with 20 minutes remaining, Arsenal were awarded a free-kick near the 18-yard line. Given's positioning meant he had a lot to do if the ball was directed towards the top near corner of the net, which was precisely where Henry put it, scoring off the underside of the crossbar.

But that was all Arsenal achieved. "We can win the big games," Wenger reflected, "but you also have to win against the teams who will not be fighting for the championship." At this rate he will soon be counting Arsenal among them.

• Guardian Service