With 11 men still on the pitch at the end for once, Arsenal succumbed to a late equaliser against Southampton at Highbury which undermined their Barclaycard Premiership title challenge.

As the sinners were held by the Saints, it was only in the final 11 minutes, after substitute Jo Tessem's dramatic and largely un-heralded intervention in a previously dour game, that Arsenal came to life.

Full credit to Southampton's battling spirit. For by then, Tessem's header had levelled the scoreline amid a largely prosaic display by the home side.

And Sylvain Wiltord, who had given his team the lead just before the break as they set a new Premiership record of scoring in 26 consecutive league games, wasted the clearest opening of all to recover.

The ultimate irony is that it was from Arsenal's first yellow card of the game, picked up by substitute Edu, that the Saints won the free-kick from which they scored.

This, after all, is an Arsenal side who have made something of a habit recently of using red cards as their inspiration towards victory.

The kind of red rag to a bull, in fact, which has seen them beat Blackburn with 10 men and Liverpool with just nine in the past week.

Against Southampton, however, rather than adding to their tally of 11 red cards this season and 43 since Wenger took charge in 1996, they picked up just two cautions.

They may have sustained worrying injuries to Patrick Vieira and Ashley Cole, ensuring it was a makeshift defence which was eventually pierced.

But that was not enough to inspire them out of dropping yet another two points at home, while Manchester United romped to victory against Sunderland at Old Trafford.

Despite starting with three strikers, Arsenal took time to settle into their stride and while Robert Pires mishit a shot wide, they were largely too ponderous and predictable in their build-up play.

Southampton may not have posed any significant attacking threat, but they were holding their own as Arsenal hustled and bustled to little real effect.

When Thierry Henry did manage to burst clear, he was denied from a tight angle by Paul Jones, while Wiltord's pace and power enabled him to embark on a 30-yard run only to blast his shot over the top.

There was also the worrying sight of Vieira going off after 27 minutes with a tight hamstring, even if Matt Le Tissier was, on a lighter note, booked while not even on the pitch for contesting a free-kick decision.

But as the interval approached amid increasingly tedium, with a cross-shot by Pires which skimmed the bar counting as a chance, Arsenal finally made the breakthrough.

The inspiration was, predictably enough, Henry and from his turn and cross, Dennis Bergkamp's header was blocked by Jones only for Wiltord to ram home the loose ball from close range.

Marian Pahars' immediate response was to blaze a first-time drive over, while Henry struck the crossbar shortly after the break, but still chances were few and far between for both sides.

Arsenal suffered a second injury problem as Cole was forced off after jarring his leg in a tackle, with Gilles Grimandi replacing him and Giovanni van Bronckhorst switching to left-back.

With Martin Keown already ruled out by injury, that left them with a largely makeshift defence and there was little danger of Southampton wilting under Arsenal's sporadic pressure.

The visitors were still indebted not only to Jones for saving at point-blank range from Henry but also to the striker's overly-nonchalant finish.

But after Tessem had replaced Kevin Davies with 22 minutes left, less than quarter-of-an-hour later he had put his side level when he headed home Anders Svensson's free-kick.

Paul Williams hit a clearance over his own bar, while Wiltord was especially profligate as he clipped a clear chance even further off target from Henry's cut-back.

Arsenal had yet again paid the price of their inconsistent Highbury form on a day when they behaved themselves almost too well. Maybe there is some reason behind their poor disciplinary record, after all.

Teams:

Arsenal: Wright, Luzhny, Campbell, Upson, Cole (Grimandi 52), Pires, Vieira (van Bronckhorst 27), Parlour, Wiltord, Henry, Bergkamp (Edu 71).

Subs Not Used: Dixon, Stack.

Booked: Edu, Henry.

Goals: Wiltord 40.

Southampton: Jones, Dodd, Bridge, Lundekvam, Williams, Marsden, Oakley (Fernandes 75), Svensson, Telfer, Davies (Tessem 67), Pahars.

Subs Not Used: Le Tissier, Moss, Monk.

Booked: Le Tissier, Davies, Dodd.

Goals: Tessem 80.

Att: 38,024

Ref: C Wilkes (Gloucester).