Match of the season stalemate

LONDON: Ryan Giggs’ second-half equaliser rallied Manchester United to a 2-2 draw at Arsenal, leaving the Premier League football title chase wide open with less than a month to play.

Thierry Henry scored two second-half goals to give Arsenal a 2-1 lead — overcoming Ruud Van Nistelrooy’s first-half strike — and set the stage for Giggs’ 63rd-minute header. A match billed as the biggest of the season in England left nothing decided, with both sides failing to hold leads that would have meant victory and a strong grip on claiming the Premier League championship. Manchester United leads with 71 points and have four to play. Arsenal have 68 but five matches remaining. The Gunners also hold a narrow one-goal advantage in goal difference.

Defending champion Arsenal played the last few minutes with only 10 men after defender Sol Campbell was sent off for throwing an right elbow into the side of the head of United’s Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. Van Nistelrooy gave United the lead when he beat Arsenal defenders Campbell and Martin Keown down the left side and chipped home from eight metres (yards) in the 24th as United completely dominated the first half. Henry equalised in the 51st on a lucky goal. Standing in the box, Ashley Cole’s close-in shot struck Henry and then went in under a startled Barthez. Eleven minutes later Henry scored again on a play that a TV replay showed to be offside. The lead lasted only 66 seconds as Giggs scored the tying goal on header off sloppy Arsenal defending.