Nasri Turns Arsenal Back to Contenders

Even though a ruckus is never a particularly edifying spectacle, Arsène Wenger might not have been too disappointed to see all his players dash over to the scene of overheating tempers when Tony Hibbert tackled Denilson recklessly. Too often this season, Arsenal have needed far more fight in the dog. Trailing at half-time, and looking as frail as they had when they succumbed to Fulham, Hull and - but for a stoppage-time equaliser - Sunderland, the home side summoned enough spirit to win convincingly in the end.

Anyone who has witnessed how inexplicably their form fluctuates between entertaining and excruciating - and they served up a half of each here - knows how hard it is to assess where this team are going.

Wenger's bold pronouncement that Arsenal could still win the league was dealt a pre-match reality check when news of Chelsea's rout of Middlesbrough filtered south. Surely the notion was little more than an attempt to revive his team's confidence.

Premier League pretensions were exposed quickly, as Everton took a ninth-minute lead. The trouble started as debutant defender Mikaël Silvestre was easily outmanoeuvred by Yakubu, inviting Leon Osman to scurry forward, exchange passes with Steven Pienaar and steer in his third goal of the season.

Silvestre was not far away from deeper embarrassment when he deflected another Osman effort, and watched as the ball squirmed just outside a post. Defensively, with Alex Song chosen to play right-back in a makeshift back four, Arsenal fluctuated between nervy and feeble. Gaël Clichy was the only one to earn any credit with a goalline clearance to shepherd away Joleon Lescott's headed attempt which could easily have made David Moyes doubly happy.

Everton's defenders, in contrast, had the luxury of not being overly tested early on, but when they were, they produced some moments of real authority. Tim Howard, in the visitors' goal, kept the score at 1-0 with a fine save from Robin van Persie. Then Lescott took the plaudits with a superb block to deny Samir Nasri a free shot from close range. Everton also had their slices of fortune, such as when Van Persie ballooned a left-footer from a promising position.

The best Arsenal managed before the break was Cesc Fàbregas's 30-yarder, which fizzed past the post. Their first-half impotence was summed up when Emmanuel Adebayor's frustration resulted in a completely justified booking for a silly dive in the penalty area.

Wenger made a half-time change - enforced by Kolo Touré's shoulder injury - but the upshot was that Theo Walcott came on. It looked like more of the same for Arsenal as Yakubu threatened to kill the game off, only to be foiled by Manuel Almunia.

That proved critical, as Arsenal broke finally to get their act together. From Silvestre's lay-off, Nasri lifted the tension by driving the ball into a bottom corner.

Suddenly it was all Arsenal. Nasri and Van Persie, aided by Walcott's pace and Adebayor's running, turned the screw as the home team threatened to complete a much-needed comeback. Van Persie delivered 20 minutes from time, nodding in after Fàbregas's shot had been blocked. Walcott made sure in the 90th minute, finishing off a cute one-two with fellow substitute Abou Diaby for his first goal since that hat-trick in Zagreb.

For all their injuries, the return of Diaby and the introduction of Silvestre, who improved as the match wore on, is heartening in time for their Champions League match at Fenerbahce on Tuesday.

Moyes will be disappointed at the way Everton surrendered. If the reports about possible takeover interest from the Dubai royal family turn into something tangible, their new owners will be buying a team who remain a work in progress.

Emirates Stadium: 60,064

Game rating |||||||||| Referee:Peter Walton

Arsenal:Almunia; Song, Touré (Walcott ht), Silvestre, Clichy...#9632;; Eboué, Fabregas, Denilson, Nasri (Diaby 83); Van Persie, Adebayor...#9632; Subs not used Fabianski, Vela, Ramsey, Gibbs, Hoyte

Everton: Howard; Hibbert (Vaughan 80) Jagielka, Lescott...#9632;, Baines; Rodwell; Arteta, Fellaini (Saha 74), Osman...#9632;, Pienaar...#9632;; Yakubu (Neville 80) Subs not used Nash, Valente, Gosling, Wallace