SETANTA NEWS

Arsenal pegged back by Schalke

by Tony Cuddihy , 06 November 2012

Another woeful defensive performance from Arsenal saw the Gunners pegged back to 2-2 by Schalke in Gelsenkirchen.


The Gunners had taken a 2-0 lead in the first half, thanks to goals from Theo Walcott and Olivier Giroud, but allowed Klaas-Jan Huntelaar to halve the arrears before the break, with Jefferson Farfan grabbing the equaliser as the clock ticked down.

For the opener, Giroud broke clear of the German side's defence before clashing into goalkeeper Lars Unnerstall and Benedikt Howedes. Luckily, Walcott was on hand to scoop up the rebound before slotting home.

Lukas Podolski created the second, getting past defender Hoger before whipping in a cross that Giroud converted with aplomb.

Just when it looked like the visitors would go in with a healthy lead, Santi Cazorla slipped and allowed Lewis Holtby to find Huntelaar. The Dutchman did the rest, firing emphatically past Vito Mannone.

Giroud had a great chance to re-establish the two-goal lead, but volleyed over the bar from a Podolski cross.

With just over 20 minutes remaining, Schalke were level when Farfan - free at the back post - was given far too much time to compose himself before shooting home via a Thomas Vermaelen deflection.

The draw leaves Arsenal second in the table, but just one point clear of Olumpiakos, who beat group whipping boys Montpellier.

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Pos
Team P W D L +/- PTS
1.
Man Utd
38
28
5
5
43
89
2.
Man City
38
23
9
6
32
78
3.
Chelsea
38
22
9
7
36
75
4.
Arsenal
38
21
10
7
35
75
5.
Tottenham
38
21
9
8
20
72
6.
Everton
38
16
15
7
15
63
7.
Liverpool
38
16
13
9
28
61
8.
West Brom
38
14
7
17
-4
49
9.
Swansea
38
11
13
14
-4
46
10.
West Ham
38
12
10
16
-8
46
11.
Norwich
38
10
14
14
-17
44
12.
Fulham
38
11
10
17
-10
43
13.
Stoke
38
9
15
14
-11
42
14.
Southampton
38
9
14
15
-11
41
15.
Aston Villa
38
10
11
17
-22
41
16.
Newcastle
38
11
8
19
-23
41
17.
Sunderland
38
9
12
17
-13
39
18.
Wigan
38
9
9
20
-26
36
19.
Reading
38
6
10
22
-30
28
20.
QPR
38
4
13
21
-30
25

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