Portsmouth 1-1 Arsenal

LuaLua tussles with Arsenal's Campbell

Lomana LuaLua's second-half header gave Portsmouth a valuable point in their Premiership relegation battle.

He nodded home Andres D'Alessandro's free-kick on 66 minutes after Sol Campbell, making his comeback, had fouled the DR Congo striker.

Thierry Henry broke the deadlock on 36 minutes, shoving Sean Davis off the ball and shooting past Dean Kiely after swapping passes with Emmanuel Adebayor.

Arsenal would have won but for two bad misses by striker Emmanuel Adebayor.

The first one came at the end of the first half, when the Togo-born frontman scooped the ball wide after being set up by Henry and Jose Reyes.

Adebayor came up with a miss to rival his first one after the break, heading a cross well wide while unmarked.

But if the young Arsenal striker endured a night to forget, two of his colleagues had happier evenings.

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Henry scored a goal which would have been a fitting winner for any game, while Campbell made a reasonable comeback after a long lay-off.

There were times when Campbell looked ill at ease against LuaLua's searing pace, not least when Kolo Toure had to make a last-gasp saving tackle on the DR Congo man.

But the England defender did manage to keep Benjani Mwaruwari safely shackled all evening, so much so that the Zimbabwean lost his cool and was booked for a very late challenge on Johan Djourou before later being withdrawn.

Benjani also drew blood from above Campbell's right eye before going off, connecting with the defender's face with an elbow.

Campbell also got a bloody nose and was substituted himself, but the big centre-back would have been pleased with his pre-World Cup return to action.

Arsenal, enjoying the opportunity to display their trademark passing game on Fratton Park's relaid pitch, looked almost like the home team on occasion.

For their part, Portsmouth seemed happy to play the role of counter-attackers, especially given they had LuaLua's pace to utilise.

It was LuaLua who had the first clear shot of the game, although his seventh-minute effort was a mile high of Jens Lehmann's goal.

Arsenal had an outlet of their own in Henry, who almost capitalised on a long through ball from Reyes on 16 minutes only for Dejan Stefanovic to clear.

Matthew Taylor's clumsy challenge on Freddie Ljungberg might have led to a penalty, but no foul was given and the Swede was booked for complaining to referee Uriah Rennie.

Pompey did have chances, Stefanovich heading wide from a decent position and Pedro Mendes hitting a long shot straight at Lehmann.

But, after Henry had given Arsenal the lead, it was left to Lua Lua to salvage a point for the home side, although he had to be taken off after injuring himself doing his trademark backflips.

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Portsmouth manager Harry Redknapp:
"LuaLua went off and did his treble back somersault with pike and twisted his ankle. It wasn't the cleverest thing he's ever done.

"But no danger, he will be fit for the weekend. It was a great point - to go behind against Arsenal and come back.

"It's been a big turn around but there's still a lot to do."

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger:
"There was a lot of possession in the game but when you don't take your chances you don't get the result you want.

"When you look at the chances we had and the chances they had it was a disappointing result for us.

"You don't miss chances on purpose even though he (Emmanuel Adebayor) is very disappointed."

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Portsmouth: Kiely, Priske, Primus, Stefanovic, Taylor, O'Neil, Davis (Routledge 57), Pedro Mendes, D'Alessandro, LuaLua (Hughes 69), Mwaruwari (Todorov 66).
Subs Not Used: Ashdown, O'Brien.

Booked: Mwaruwari.

Goals: LuaLua 66.

Arsenal: Lehmann, Djourou, Campbell (Eboue 89), Toure, Flamini, Ljungberg, Song Billong, Diaby, Reyes (Hleb 80), Henry, Adebayor (Van Persie 75).
Subs Not Used: Poom, Bergkamp.

Booked: Ljungberg.

Goals: Henry 36.

Att: 20,230

Ref: U Rennie (S Yorkshire).