PA
Arsenal were left to rue a moment of carelessness by goalkeeper Jens Lehmann which gifted Blackburn a 1-1 draw at Ewood Park.
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Blackburn 'keeper Brad Friedal keeps Eduardo Da Silva away from goal.
He allowed Blackburn to secure a point when he flapped at a shot from David Dunn and watched in disbelief as it nestled in the net.
It was the second time this season the German has been punished for a lack of concentration. On the opening day of the season he allowed Fulham's David Healy to score from close range.
Arsenal went on to secure a victory against their London neighbours but were not so fortunate in Lancashire after Robin van Persie had given them the lead.
• Wenger fury at Blackburn 'violence'
The only sour note for Blackburn was the dismissal of skipper Ryan Nelsen for two yellow cards.
Arsenal took the lead in the 18th minute when Van Persie took advantage of some sloppy defending to score.
Goalkeeper Brad Friedel failed to deal with Eduardo Da Silva's shot after Theo Walcott had headed the ball on.
Nelsen and David Dunn both had chances to clear but failed to do so and Van Persie took advantage his second goal of the season
It was just the start Arsenal wanted after their Champions League victory against Sparta Prague in midweek.
However manager Arsene Wenger was forced to make a change in the 25th minute with William Gallas limping off and replaced by Philippe Senderos.
Blackburn almost drew level in the 34th minute following a free-kick from David Bentley.
He picked out Christopher Samba at the back post and the towering defender headed the ball back across the area.
Nelsen was the first to react and powered the ball forward only to see his effort come back off the post.
Blackburn, though, were still looking vulnerable at the back and a mistake by Stephen Warnock let in Walcott with Nelsen dragged out of position.
Walcott was in two minds whether to shoot or cross and failed to trouble Friedel in the home goal.
The Arsenal youngster sent a harmless ball across the face of the area and Van Persie was unable to get a touch.
Then Senderos delivered a goal-bound header a minute before the break only to see Samba make the clearance.
Bentley then tried to curl a free-kick beyond Lehmann in the 53rd minute but his effort fail to trouble the goalkeeper.
This was a good spell by Blackburn and Roque Santa Cruz sent a header narrowly wide of the post in the 57th minute following a free-kick from Bentley.
Derbyshire then almost equalised three minutes later when he got on the end of a cross from Bentley but Toure made a vital interception.
There was controversy in the 62nd minute when Cesc Fabregas handled Samba's effort on the line but referee Alan Wiley awarded Arsenal a free-kick for an infringement.
Lehmann had to look lively in the 66th minute to push away an inswinging free-kick driven at pace from Morten Gamst Pedersen.
Then came his howler which allowed Dunn to score his first goal in his second spell for the club.
Blackburn were growing in confidence and Pedersen made space down the left only to find the side-netting with his shot.
However they were reduced to 10 men in the 83rd minute when Nelsen picked up his second yellow card of the game for a challenge on Van Persie.
Blackburn, though, kept their shape to take a point and continue their good start to the season.
• Wenger fury at Blackburn 'violence'
Arsene Wenger accused Blackburn of waging 'violence' against his Arsenal side at Ewood Park.
It was a charge dismissed by his managerial counterpart Mark Hughes after a feisty 1-1 draw.
Wenger said: 'I felt there was a desire for violence more than commitment in some of the challenges.
'We were very resilient against a team that was over-physical. We dealt well with the problem we had.
'My team showed the correct attitude and we are frustrated because we should be going home with the three points.
'We did well and had some good chances to score a second goal here.'
Skipper Ryan Nelsen was sent off after picking up two yellow cards but Hughes retorted: 'That attitude (by Wenger) surprises me. The worst challenge was by Van Persie on Stephen Warnock.'
Van Persie opened the scoring with his second goal in two league games when he took advantage of some sloppy defending after Brad Friedel failed to take the ball cleanly.
But Blackburn earned a point when goalkeeper Jens Lehmann spilled a shot from David Dunn and enabled the midfielder to score his first goal in his second spell for the club.
It is the second time this season the German has been punished for a lapse in concentration.
On the opening day he gifted a goal to Fulham's David Healy but Arsenal recovered and went on to secure a victory.
They were not so fortunate in Lancashire but Wenger, who saw defender William Gallas suffer a groin injury, refused to condemn his goalkeeper.
He said: 'Jens is really unhappy and really down in the dressing room.
'I do not need to tell him, though, he has made a mistake. We do not want to blame him. We want to keep the positives.
'While we conceded a bad goal overall we dealt well with set pieces and long balls.
'Blackburn is a difficult place to come and it is not a bad result for us.'
Hughes was delighted at the way Blackburn went about their business and refused to grumble about failing to get what appeared to be a clear penalty.
Cesc Fabregas handled a shot from Christopher Samba on the line but referee Alan Wiley awarded a free-kick to Arsenal for a mysterious infringement.
Wiley seemed to struggle with the physical nature of the game and dished out eight yellow cards as well as the red to Nelsen.
Hughes said: 'It was very competitive and I thought we dominated the game. We were the better side.
'Arsenal's key personnel did not cause us problems and we could have snatched a victory.
'We showed great character and equipped ourselves well against a top side. It sets down a marker as far as I am concerned.
'I am really delighted by the manner of our performance as we played the better football.'<
Match Stats
Blackburn Arsenal
Shots (on Goal) 10(4) 11(3)
Fouls 19 15
Corner Kicks 5 4
Offsides 5 2
Time of Possession 49% 51%
Yellow Cards 4 4
Red Cards 1 0
Saves 3 8
Teams
Blackburn Arsenal
1 Brad Friedel Jens Lehmann 1
6 Ryan Nelsen Gael Clichy 22
4 Christopher Samba William Gallas 10
3 Stephen Warnock Bacary Sagna 3
11 David Bentley Kolo Toure 5
19 David Dunn Francesc Fabregas 4
7 Brett Emerton Mathieu Flamini 16
12 Morten Gamst Pedersen Alexander Hleb 13
8 Robbie Savage Da Silva Eduardo 9
27 Matt Derbyshire Robin Van Persie 11
9 Roque Santa Cruz Theo Walcott 32
Substitutes
32 Jason Brown Manuel Almunia 24
2 Andre Ooijer Philippe Senderos 6
5 Tugay Kerimoglu Neves Denilson 15
10 Benedict McCarthy Alexandre Song Billong 17
30 Jason Roberts Nicklas Bendtner 26
Substitutions
A Ooijer for M Derbyshire (85)
P Senderos for W Gallas (24)
B McCarthy for R Santa Cruz (88)
N Denilson for D Eduardo (65)
N Bendtner for T Walcott (73)
Yellow Cards
David Bentley (24)
Mathieu Flamini (29)
Christopher Samba (30)
Da Silva Eduardo (65)
Robbie Savage (45)
Gael Clichy (66)
Ryan Nelsen (60)
Robin Van Persie (74)
Red Cards
Ryan Nelsen (84)
· Club Squads: Blackburn | Arsenal
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