Arsenal back on top again.
December 14 , 2003
Arsenal 1 Blackburn 0

Bergkamp stroked home following a determined run from Kolo Toure on 11 minutes - and that proved enough to see off determined Blackburn. But things could have been so different had Rovers made the most of a determined start. Buoyed by back-to-back Premiership wins over Spurs and Birmingham, the visitors were quickly on the attack. They could have been ahead after just 20 seconds, but striker Dwight Yorke toe-poked wide after Markus Babbel's knock-back had been missed by Sol Campbell. More positive attacking play followed from Graeme Souness's side, but the game changed as Arsenal struck from their first attack. Toure raced down the right flank and outmuscled Vratislav Gresko before rolling the ball into the path of Bergkamp, who controlled and sidefooted coolly beyond a helpless Brad Friedel. Robert Pires nearly added a second when Freddie Ljungberg's cross was headed straight to the Frenchman, who bent a shot against a post with Friedel a mere spectator. And Bergkamp came within an inch of his second when he scuffed wide following brilliant work from Thierry Henry, though a linesman's flag meant the chance would not have stood. Henry, nominated for Monday's World Player of the Year award, nearly got on the scoresheet himself five minutes before half-time when Bergkamp pounced on a loose Tugay pass to set him up, only for Friedel to block Henry's deflected shot. Friedel was in action again early in the second half, stopping Ljungberg's shot after another Bergkamp assist. But the one-way traffic failed to produce an Arsenal cushion. Instead, Blackburn played the second half the way they had started the first and could have forced at least a point as Arsenal hinted at frustration. Rovers had a goal disallowed when Barry Ferguson's cross was headed home by Babbel, but only after the German defender had climbed over Toure to reach the ball. And Arsenal keeper Jens Lehmann was called on to make a fine save at full stretch when Ferguson got a shot on target 20 minutes from time. But Blackburn knew their luck was out when their best chance of the game came to nothing seven minutes from time. Lehmann reacted well to push out Craig Short's flicked header from a corner, with Yorke scooping the loose ball over the bar. That miss ensured Arsenal leap-frog Manchester United and Chelsea in the Premiership title race as the Gunners remain the only unbeaten team in English football this season.