Stuttering Arsenal narrowly avoids another blow

LONDON: Arsene Wenger admitted Arsenal had avoided a potentially crippling "psychological blow" after scraping a dramatic 1-1 draw with Aston Villa.

The north Londoners' tumultuous week was set for a dismal finish courtesy of Philippe Senderos' first-half own goal when Nicklas Bendtner pounced with virtually the last kick of the game to snatch a point on Saturday.

A draw was still far from ideal for Arsenal - whose lead over Manchester United at the top of the Premier League has now been whittled down to a single point - but Bendtner's intervention at least averted just a second-ever reversal at the Emirates and buoyed spirits ahead of the daunting trip to AC Milan on Tuesday.