Arsenal 1 Blackburn 0
So much for being a one-man team. Even without Thierry Henry at his very best, Arsenal avoided the same fate as Chelsea as they clawed their way back to the top of the table with a hard-earned win against Blackburn.
For once, Henry was a mere mortal, at least by his own high standards, as he failed to live up to his billing as favourite for the FIFA world player of the year award or a prized transfer target for Chelsea.
However, even without his goalscoring powers being at their peak, Arsenal were able to rely upon Dennis Bergkamp's 11th-minute strike against Blackburn.
Rovers may have been fortunate to still be in the game by the interval after Robert Pires struck the post and numerous other openings were squandered. However, as Graeme Souness' side grew in stature after the break, Arsenal were left to rely upon their well-honed qualities of resilience and defiance as they hung on.
That was nevertheless something which Chelsea had failed to do just 24 hours earlier as they lost a 1-0 lead at home to Bolton to lose 2-1.
Indeed, rather than Henry, the two players upon whom Arsenal relied the most were Jens Lehmann, who pulled off a handful of first-class saves, and Kolo Toure. Blackburn were the only side to complete the double over Arsenal last season and it took them just 20 seconds to carve out their first opening this time around.
Sol Campbell failed to cut out Lucas Neill's volleyed cross and Dwight Yorke clipped his shot just wide from 12 yards out.
That was a considerable let-off for Arsene Wenger's side amid a hesitant start but they settled down from the moment that Toure took the game by the scruff of the neck. The full-back pushed the ball past Vratislav Gresko and then beat him for pace and strength before superbly cutting a pass back to Bergkamp, who stabbed his shot inside the near post.
Pires was displaying both sides of his character, falling over theatrically from a push by Barry Ferguson but also mesmerising Blackburn on the break. It was surely only a matter of time before a second goal arrived, but Blackburn somehow managed to stay in touch.
Pires directed a free header straight at Brad Friedel and then curled an effort against the post, while Patrick Vieira squandered a clear opening after superb approach play by Henry and Fredrik Ljungberg. Henry's penalty appeals for handball were also turned down, while the offside flag continued to frustrate the home side.
It was difficult to work out just how Arsenal did not increase their lead, especially when Tugay weakly gave away the ball to Bergkamp, who set Henry through on goal. The Frenchman was nevertheless denied as Craig Short and Friedel combined to frustrate him at the last moment. Souness, who had been visibly unimpressed with Pires' theatrics during the first half, made one change at the break, with Steven Reid replacing Gresko.
And while Ljungberg threatened immediately after the interval, Blackburn slowly grew in confidence, especially after Andy Cole replaced Paul Gallagher. Barry Ferguson was just denied by Lehmann's outstretched hand, while Babbel had the ball in the net with a header only to have his effort ruled out for a push on Toure.
Arsenal were again indebted to Lehmann's reflexes as he saved Short's flicked header before Yorke stabbed the loose ball over the bar from close range. Pires was denied by Neill's last-ditch tackle, while Henry also wasted two chances to finish the game off. Surely even the best player in the world is entitled to one off-day though.