Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger was happy to gain some breathing space in third place after their 1-1 draw at Stoke City.

Robin van Persie cancelled out Peter Crouch's opener for Stoke.

The draw, coupled with Newcastle's 4-0 thrashing at Wigan, put four points between the teams in the battle for third place and a certain Champions League spot, and Wenger was largely happy with the result.

He said: "It was a game where we have shown great character and great battling qualities. It was a game of two different approaches. One very direct and one who tries to play on the ground, and both teams are good at what they do.

"We had good chances, especially in the first half. I felt in the second half our fluency dropped a bit but we still had some chances, especially the penalty that wasn't given.

"Overall we deserved at least a point and I can only give credit to my players. We have not always coped with Stoke's play, but today I felt we did."