Leeds manager David O'Leary goes into hospital on Monday safe in the knowledge his side's Premier League title chances are not in need of further major repair.

O'Leary has conceded the last few months, with Leeds barely out of the headlines for all the wrong reasons, "have been stressful".

The 43-year-old Irishman has decided to take advantage of a 10-day break, with Leeds not in FA Cup action next weekend due to their shock third-round defeat to Cardiff, to undergo minor surgery for "sinus and tonsil problems".

A further defeat on the heels of last week's comprehensive 3-1 loss at Newcastle would have been worrying for O'Leary, so a point from a clash which lacked the venom of previous meetings will come as welcome relief.

In truth, this was a relatively tame affair in comparison to the notoriety of games in the past, the previous seven of which had produced 48 yellow cards and four red.

The last three highly-volatile matches in particular had led to misconduct charges against Patrick Vieira, Martin Keown (twice), Danny Mills and Lee Bowyer, with hearings for the latter two due to be heard on February 5.

There could yet be another as Mark Viduka and Keown renewed their bitter rivalry which had flared at Highbury in May when the no-nonsense Arsenal centre-back faced a trial by video after elbowing the Australia international off the ball.

Keown, despite actually charged with violent conduct which carries with it a three-match ban, escaped with a one-game suspension and £10,000 fine.

The grudge match resumed between the two and ultimately came to a head in the 30th minute as they again clashed in another off-the-ball incident, and on this occasion it was Viduka who appeared to floor Keown with an elbow.

The experienced 35-year-old defender remained motionless on the ground and required treatment, but as neither referee Mark Halsey or his assistants saw the challenge, the Leeds star avoided even a caution.

For the most part, and with all the pre-match hype surrounding the two clubs' lack of discipline, Professional Footballers' Association chief executive Gordon Taylor's plea for calm was heeded.

Ashley Cole, returning from a one-match ban after collecting five bookings for the season, and Robert Pires were both cautioned in the opening 45 minutes for challenges involving David Batty, the latter resulting in the Leeds midfielder being kicked up the backside by Arsenal's French left winger.

The two goals either side of that, though, were of the highest quality and with Leeds out of the starting blocks as they looked for a season-double over the Gunners following their 2-1 victory in north London in August.

Dennis Bergkamp, starting in the absence of African Nations Cup-tied Kanu, had already spurned two chances before Viduka sent Jason Wilcox away down the left.

The Leeds winger then comfortably beat Oleg Luzhny before producing a superb cross for Robbie Fowler to head home his seventh goal in his last seven matches as he again gave another indication of his desire to play for England in this summer's World Cup.

Thierry Henry was then wasteful with two opportunities inside the Leeds area, but played his part in the equalising move started by and delightfully finished by Pires on the stroke of half-time.

Pires initially fed Bergkamp and continued his run into the Leeds area, latching onto the Dutchman's slide-rule pass which was dummied by Henry before then despatching a crisp left-foot drive beyond Martyn for his eighth goal of the season.

It was a high-class strike which underlined O'Leary's claim ahead of this game that Pires is a world-class player and one who could help Arsenal win the title this season - albeit comments arguably borne out of their bitter confrontation 14 months ago.

O'Leary had blown kisses at Pires as he left the ground to board the Arsenal coach, the Gunners star then having to be restrained by Henry while calling the Leeds boss a 'whore' in French.

Fortunately, there was no repetition of such unseemly events as the game ended with a mere 31 fouls throughout the 90 minutes, with only Seth Johnson further troubling Halsey as he picked up his seventh booking of the season early in the second period.

Teams

Leeds: Martyn, Mills, Woodgate, Ferdinand, Matteo, Bowyer, Johnson, Batty, Wilcox, Fowler, Viduka.

Subs Not Used: Robinson, Kelly, Harte, Keane, Kewell.

Booked: Johnson.

Goals: Fowler 6.

Arsenal: Wright, Luzhny (Dixon 81), Campbell, Keown, Cole, Parlour, Ljungberg (van Bronckhorst 66), Vieira, Pires, Bergkamp (Wiltord 70), Henry.

Subs Not Used: Stack, Upson.

Booked: Cole, Pires.

Goals: Pires 45.

Att: 40,143

Ref: M Halsey (Welwyn Garden City).