Premier League: Wigan 2 Arsenal 2

A late own-goal from Sebastian Squillaci saw Arsenal’s English Premier League title challenge suffer a setback at Wigan on Wednesday.

Two goals in the space of five minutes just before the break from Andrey Arshavin and Nicklas Bendtner had given the Gunners a half-time advantage, after Ben Watson’s early penalty had put Wigan in front.

But the home side overcame the late dismissal of Charles N’Zogbia to pick up a priceless point in their battle against relegation.

For the majority of the first half, the Gunners had been second best to a Wigan side looking for back-to-back wins under manager Roberto Martinez for the first time.

And they took the lead on 18 minutes when N’Zogbia was felled in the penalty area by Squillaci and former Crystal Palace midfielder Watson converted the spot-kick in style.

Wigan had earlier come close to taking the lead when N’Zogbia forced a fine save from Arsenal goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski, with Tom Cleverley and Hugo Rodallega also looking sharp.

Arsenal had only had a shot by Arshavin that sailed over Ali Al Habsi’s crossbar before they turned the game on its head just before the interval.

First, Bendtner’s shot was brilliantly saved by Al Habsi, only for Arshavin to volley home the rebound in acrobatic style.

And Bendtner scored the second goal himself when he latched on to an Arshavin through ball before slotting past the goalkeeper with aplomb.

The second half did not live up to the intensity of the first, and the points looked safe when N’Zogbia was sent off with 11 minutes left following a head-to-head altercation with Jack Wilshere.

But, incredibly, Wigan were level within seconds when Watson’s corner was headed back across goal by Rodallega and Squillaci put the ball through his own net under pressure from Latics captain Gary Caldwell.