Bolton Wanderers 2 Arsenal 3: Arsenal grateful for 'little miracle'

Tired tiros and flaky foreigners? If any fixture seemed likely to underline recent perceptions about Arsenal's gifted but vulnerable young bloods it was this one: on the back of their worst run for nine years, a long trip up the M6 to Bolton, where they had lost three successive League games, to meet a physically robust team fighting for Premier League life. Oh, and it's raining sideways and blowing a gale. Welcome back to Lancashire, Mr Wenger.

By quarter past four on Saturday afternoon, Arsenal's drenched supporters must have felt like calling it a (bad) day and heading home early. Any who did will have been kicking themselves ever since. At 2-0 down, with Abou Diaby sent off for a reckless lunge at Gretar Steinsson, and Bolton threatening a third goal, even Arsène Wenger's faith was tested. But the combination of a clever substitution, his team's self-belief and one late stroke of good fortune contrived the victory that Robin van Persie later called "a little miracle".

Putting Wednesday's Champions League game with Liverpool to the back of his mind and hoping the players would do the same, Wenger switched to three men at the back and sent on Emmanuel Adebayor and Theo Walcott to take the game to Bolton, which both did in dynamic fashion. Their team-mates were revitalised at the same time and within eight minutes of the change, Arsenal were level from William Gallas' jab at the far post and Van Persie's penalty. When Van Persie missed badly after a brilliant run down the right by Walcott, it looked as though they would have to settle for a single point. With only a few seconds of normal time remaining, however, fortune favoured the bold as Cesc Fabregas, having had one of his quieter games, saw a scuffed shot bounce into the net off two Bolton defenders.

"You do not win a game like today without believers," Wenger said. "They believe anything is possible." Confidence that includes retrieving the lead lost at the top of Premier League may have been dented with subsequent victories by Manchester United and Chelsea but at the very least, Saturday's comeback – the best Wenger could remember – was a marvellous stimulant to take into the three forthcoming meetings with Liverpool and a visit to Old Trafford.

In generous mood, the occasionally myopic Frenchman was also prepared to accept that the 73rd red card of his time at Arsenal was one of the few deserved ones. There were inevitably comparisons with Martin Taylor's challenge that ended Eduardo da Silva's season recently, but Wenger insisted: "I knew the injury was not bad when I saw the guy [Steinsson]. He certainly hit him but it was not comparable to what happened a few weeks ago. The tackle was a fraction high and as long as you have the foot off the ground you cannot complain. Diaby was very badly injured and out for nine months with a bad tackle at Sunderland, a malicious tackle, but I don't think his tackle was malicious, it was protective. But your intention doesn't count, it's where your foot is that counts."

Steinsson was able to continue after treatment and his manager Gary Megson even felt that "three years ago" punishment would have been limited to a booking; which may say more about British refereeing than he intended. Megson, initially hailed as "the ginger Mourinho" after lifting Bolton off the bottom of the table and beating Manchester United, has other things to worry about now.

Bolton's luck appeared to have changed with the excellent Matt Taylor's two goals from just about their only shots of the opening half, but conceding what Megson called a "pathetic" one to the unmarked Gallas induced panic that lasted until the final whistle.

"Either the white flag goes up or sleeves go up," he said. "We've got 18 points left to play for." It would have been too cruel to remind him that of the last possible 18, Bolton have taken precisely one.

Goals: Taylor (14) 1-0; Taylor (43) 2-0; Gallas (62) 2-1; Van Persie pen (68) 2-2; Samuel og (90) 2-3.

Bolton Wanderers (4-1-4-1): Al Habsi; Steinsson, A O'Brien, Cahill, Samuel; Campo; Diouf (Stelios, 78), McCann, Guthrie, Taylor (Hunt, 78, Rasiak 81); Davies. Substitutes not used: Walker (gk), Cohen.

Arsenal (4-4-1-1): Almunia; Touré, Gallas, Senderos (Walcott, 60), Clichy; Hleb, Fabregas, Flamini, Diaby; Van Persie (Hoyte, 90); Bendtner (Adebayor, 60). Substitutes not used: Lehmann (gk), Eboué.

Referee: C Foy (Merseyside)

Booked: Bolton Davies, Diouf. Arsenal Fabregas, Touré.

Sent off: Arsenal Diaby.

Man of the match: Taylor.

Attendance: 22,431.

Arsenal's League fixtures

5 April Liverpool (h)

13 April Man Utd (a)

19 April Reading (h)

28 April Derby (a)

3 May Everton (h)

11 May Sunderland (a)