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Arsenal top after Henry free kick
LONDON, England -- A superbly struck free kick from Thierry Henry sent Arsenal back to the top of the premier league on Sunday after a 1-1 draw at Charlton Athletic. Arsenal, who have 24 points, are one point ahead of Chelsea (23) with Manchester United, surprisingly beaten 3-1 at home by Fulham on Saturday, in third place with 22. Italian striker Paolo Di Canio had put Charlton ahead before Henry's 39th minute strike. It was Di Canio's first league goal for Charlton since joining on a one-year-deal in August, deftly chipped them ahead with a penalty on 27 minutes after Lauren had, somewhat harshly, been penalised for tripping Matt Holland. Henry had gone agonisingly close to an equaliser minutes later when he cut in from the right and unleashed a curling left-foot strike that beat goalkeeper Dean Kiely but crashed against the left upright. The Frenchman made no mistake six minutes before the break, though, when Scott Parker fouled Ray Parlour five metres outside the penalty area. Henry curled the free kick around the wall and into the top right-hand corner of Kiely's goal. "If I was Charlton, I would be very happy," said Gunners coach Arsene Wenger in reference to the disputed penalty. But the decision was made and you can't change it," he added. "They were better than us at the beginning, so a draw was a fair result," said Henry who remained modest over his stunning free-kick equaliser. They put players on both sides. All I could see was a small hole, so that is where I put it." Henry hit the side netting from a freekick on the right with just seconds to go in the first half. The second half was less eventful and produced no more goals though Wenger shuffled the pack by bringing on Nwankwo Kanu for Ljungberg and Sylvain Wiltord for Bergkamp with 20 minutes to go. Sunday's other game between Tottenham and Middlesbrough ended goalless at White Hart Lane. The improving London side remain unbeaten under caretaker manager David Pleat but never really looked like taking all three points during a highly disappointing 90 minutes. As for Middlesbrough, their point gained meant they moved out of the relegation zone as they climbed two places from second-from-bottom. Middlesbrough's man of the match George Boateng had the best chance when he shot over the bar from close range. The result means Middlesbrough have now scored only seven goals in 10 matches this season.
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