England round-up: Touré saves ten-man Arsenal
Sunday, September 1, 2002
Article summary
Kolo Touré's goal at Chelsea FC rescued a point for Arsenal FC, who had Patrick Vieira sent off.
Article body
Kolo Touré rescued a Premiership point for ten-man Arsenal FC after they had fallen behind to a bizarre Gianfranco Zola goal against Chelsea FC at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.
Inspired substitution
The 21-year-old from the Ivory Coast came off the bench to head an equaliser from close range on the hour and ensure the north London club extended their unbeaten Premiership run to 25 matches.
Deep free-kick
Zola had put the west London hosts ahead on 35 minutes when his deep free-kick from the left eluded everybody, including Arsenal goalkeeper David Seaman, before bouncing into the net.
Vieira sent off
Arsenal were reduced to ten men shortly after half-time when French international midfield player Patrick Vieira was dismissed for a second bookable foul, but the English champions battled back and Touré's surging run into the Chelsea area brought them a share of the spoils.
Bolton on the rise
Bolton Wanderers FC climbed off the bottom of the table with a 1-0 home win over a lacklustre Aston Villa FC at the Reebok stadium courtesy of a 56th-minute Michael Ricketts penalty. West Ham United FC now prop up the table, while Arsenal's point means north London rivals Tottenham Hotspur FC's lead at the top has been cut to two points.
