Arsenal may have found the stomach for a fight in the physical northwest battle that has been their undoing in recent years but they have lost the safe pair of hands that they have come to rely upon. Jens Lehmann, having granted David Healy a soft opening goal against Fulham last week, let a stinging but straightforward drive from David Dunn slip through his grasp as Blackburn Rovers fought back for a deserved point and held on after Ryan Nelsen’s late dismissal.

With both teams having won all their previous matches this season – four games for Blackburn, two for Arsenal, European qualifiers included – something had to give yesterday but neither team was willing to budge an inch and Arsène Wenger, while critical of Blackburn’s “overphysical” approach, must have been discreetly gratified by his own players’ willingness to mix it.

Cesc Fàbregas, who had the audacity to ask Mark Hughes, the Blackburn manager, after an FA Cup fifth-round tie last year whether he had also played for Barcelona – “because they don’t play like that” – underlined his growing maturity by taking every scy-thing tackle and getting straight back up. He even sportingly slapped Robbie Savage’s hand after being dumped on his backside.

Savage, on the other hand, was a disgrace with his hypocritical histrionics – feigning an injury to the face one minute, exhorting Eduardo Da Silva, on his Arsenal debut, to get up and go without treatment the next, before escaping a second yellow card after diving into the penalty area as Kolo Touré pulled his leg out of the way – but generally Blackburn forced their way on to level terms more through their power play than their cynicism.

Indeed it was unclear why Alan Wiley, the referee, blew up for an infringement on Lehmann midway through the second half when Morten Gamst Pedersen’s corner was diverted goal-wards by Christopher Samba before Fàbregas handled on the line.

“We dominated the game from start to finish,” Hughes said. “We were very much on the front foot and pressed Arsenal really well. Their key players didn’t have a big influence on the game because we didn’t allow them to and we played the better football. The sending-off stopped us in our tracks, but overall I’m absolutely delighted with the manner of our performance.

“That’s a marker for us. We’ve come up against a top-four side and acquitted ourselves extremely well. That will stand us in good stead for the rest of the season.”

Arsenal have often wilted under Bolton Wanderers’ physicality in these parts and were knocked out of the Cup at Ewood Park last season but, remarkably, they had won seven of their previous eight league meetings with Blackburn and looked on course for more success when Robin van Persie scored in the eighteenth minute.

The goal arrived at the end of a move that started with an Arsenal throw-in that Hughes disputed. But that was no excuse for the shoddy manner in which Blackburn defended after Gaël Clichy’s cross. When Theo Walcott, on his first start since March after a shoulder injury, headed the ball back into the danger area, Nelsen headed the ball backwards to where Eduardo was lurking. Both the Croatia striker and Fàbregas had efforts blocked before Van Persie rammed in the loose ball for his seventh goal in six games against these opponents.

Arsenal’s mettle was tested as William Gallas had to go off with a groin injury – Wenger expects his captain to be out for three weeks – and Nelsen headed David Bentley’s cross against a post. But Arsenal frequently broke through on the counter-attack and Walcott should have done better when, scampering clear, he crossed too far in advance of Van Persie.

Even after Dunn had scored his first goal since he returned to his home-town club, collecting a return pass from Matt Derbyshire and blasting a shot straight at Lehmann from 20 yards, Arsenal might have stolen the points when first Nicklas Bendtner and then Van Persie got clear.

On the second occasion the Holland forward was hauled back by Nelsen who, already cautioned, had to walk. He was unfortunate to be the only one.

Blackburn 1 Dunn 72
Arsenal 1 Van Persie 18

How they rated

Blackburn Rovers 4-4-2 B Friedel 7 B Emerton 7 C Samba Y 6 R Nelsen R 6 S Warnock 6 D Bentley Y 6 D Dunn 8 R Savage Y 3 M G Pedersen 5 R Santa Cruz 5 M Derbyshire 6 Substitutes B McCarthy (for Santa Cruz, 89min), A Ooijer (for Derbyshire, 85) Not used J Brown, Tugay, J Roberts

Arsenal 4-4-2 J Lehmann 4 B Sagna 5 K Touré 6 W Gallas 5 G Clichy Y 6 T Walcott 3 F Fabregas 7 M Flamini Y 6 A Hleb 5 E Da Silva Y 5 R van Persie Y 6 Substitutes P Senderos 6 (for Gallas, 25min), Denilson 6 (for Da Silva, 65), N Bendtner (for Walcott, 73) Not used M Almunia, A Song

Referee: A Wiley
Attendance 24,917