Arsenal held to draw at Stoke

Arsenal missed a chance to pull away from Newcastle in the race for third place in the Barclays Premier League as they were held to a 1-1 draw by Stoke at the Britannia Stadium.

The Magpies' thrashing at Wigan opened the door for the Gunners to move six points clear and all but clinch a Champions League spot.

But they went behind after nine minutes when Peter Crouch rose above the defence to head in and, although Robin van Persie equalised six minutes later, they could not find a winner.

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