Hiccup at Highbury leaves sour taste

Arsenal 1, Southampton 1: The notion of Tony Adams, old Donkey himself, hoofing through the litter of Arsenal's red and yellow cards and medical bulletins to save the side's season is a comic one, not least because it scarcely needs rescuing at this stage.

After all, whichever direction the cannon on their new crest points, they are still on target in the Premiership, the FA Cup and the Champions League.

And yet, the need for Adams, who will play for the reserves this week and is expected to return to the first team later this month for the first time since September, is an urgent one.

When the point was made to Arsène Wenger on Saturday evening he appeared to misunderstand - deliberately, perhaps, because he is a shrewd old fox.

"We will welcome Tony back. But we are not a team that is down. Why should we be desperate to get one player back? Tony has been out for 14 or 15 weeks and we have done okay in this time."

But this misses the point. Arsenal's problem, apart from discipline and fitness, is their home record. They have won only five at Highbury. They have taken 19 points from 36 at home while collecting 29 from 39 away. They have conceded 20 goals at home.

Crucially, in the absence of Adams, Nigel Winterburn, Lee Dixon, Steve Bould and now Keown, they have no one to lead the back line. Sol Campbell, though capable of individual magnificence, is not experienced enough to take responsibility.

There were times on Saturday when, against a spirited but limited Southampton side, their defence looked as battered as Tony Blair's passport.

And they conceded the equaliser because, defending far too deep, they gave too much room to Jo Tessem and Paul Williams. Campbell was caught out and Matthew Upson, in the injured Keown's absence, saw his confidence collapse after solid beginnings.

This season Arsenal have placed too many eggs in the Gallic baskets of Thierry Henry and Robert Pires. But they did not produce on Saturday and the back-up was not strong enough.

Arsenal took the lead in the 40th minute when Sylvain Wiltord registered the sort of bread-and-butter goal for which they are not known. It was the 26th match in a row in which they had scored, a Premiership record.

Southampton rescued a point and their manager's blood pressure 10 minutes from time when the makeshift striker Tessem headed in from Anders Svensson's free-kick after a foul by Edu.

ARSENAL: Wright, Luzhny, Campbell, Upson, Cole (Grimandi 52), Pires, Vieira (van Bronckhorst 27), Parlour, Wiltord, Henry, Bergkamp (Edu 71). Subs Not Used: Dixon, Stack. Booked: Edu, Henry. Goal: Wiltord 40.

SOUTHAMPTON: Jones, Dodd, Bridge, Lundekvam, Williams, Marsden, Oakley (Fernandes 75), Svensson, Telfer, Davies (Tessem 67), Pahars. Subs Not Used: Le Tissier, Moss, Monk. Booked: Le Tissier, Davies, Dodd. Goal: Tessem 80.

Referee: C Wilkes (Gloucester).