Blackburn: Andrey Arshavin scored a 51st-minute winner on Saturday as Arsenal beat Blackburn 2-1 at Ewood Park to maintain its unbeaten start to the Premier League season.
The Russia captain stroked home a rebound from 10 meters (yards) to find the net for a second successive weekend. He scored a penalty in the 6-0 thrashing of Blackpool last Saturday.
England winger Theo Walcott followed up his hat trick against Blackpool with a clinical fourth-minute opener, which was canceled out by a close-range goal by Mame Diouf in the 20th. Arsenal has seven points from its opening three games as it chases a first Premier League title since 2004.
As expected, Blackburn bombarded the visitors with long balls, especially during an end-to-end first half, and Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger was happy with the way his defense withstood the pressure at a ground where the London club traditionally struggles.
"No matter who you are, they would give a strong test to any team in the world," Wenger said of Blackburn. "It's difficult to resist but overall we had the commitment."
The only negative for Arsenal was Van Persie injuring his ankle in the first half that forced him to come off. "It's a twisted ankle. We have to check but if we have no bad news, we hope in eight to 10 days he'll be OK," Wenger said.
Arsenal nearly went in front in the fourth minute but midfielder Abou Diaby saw his left-footed shot cleared off the line by Vince Grella. Wenger's team did go ahead in the 20th minute, Walcott running onto a through ball by Van Persie and slamming a fierce shot into the far corner from an acute angle.
The equalizer from Diouf, on loan at Rovers from Manchester United, owed much to the good work on the left wing by namesake El Hadji Diouf, who beat Laurent Koscielny for pace and crossed for his compatriot from Senegal to tap in.
Van Persie tried to run off his injury but hobbled off in the 34th to be replaced by Marouane Chamakh. The Netherlands striker's absence did not unduly affect Arsenal, which retook the lead in the 51st minute.
Bacary Sagna's cross from the right was met by captain Cesc Fabregas, whose goal-bound shot was deflected off Walcott into the path of Arshavin. The Russia captain's finish went through a crowd of players and into the corner.
Arsenal's back four dealt with everything Blackburn threw at them in the final 30 minutes, and it was the away side that looked more likely to add to the scoring. Walcott twice shot over the bar from outside the area before having a goal disallowed for offside.
In an injury-time counter attack, Walcott set up substitute Jack Wilshere but the newly capped England midfielder's first touch was poor, allowing goalkeeper Paul Robinson time to come out and block the shot.
It was Blackburn's second loss running, having opened its campaign with a 1-0 home victory against Everton, but Blackburn manager Sam Allardyce believed his side was hard done by.
"Overall, it was a very good performance for us and a very disappointing no-pointer," Allardyce said. "Unfortunately we couldn't produce the final ball often enough to score more goals."
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