Bolton Wanderers 0 Arsenal 0: match report Arsenal should have led early on, squandering two decent opportunities within the first 10 minutes. First, Van Persie tamely headed Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain's cross within belting-away distance of David Wheater's right boot. on eight minutes. Then the Dutch master turned provider, slicing through the Bolton defence to send Aaron Ramsey clear. Losing balance, the Welshman could only poke the ball harmlessly to Adam Bogdan. In a relentless start, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain shot wide after more magic from Van Persie. A familiar pattern was emerging for Arsenal. David Ngog, a lone but diligent striker for Bolton, made the first inroad into the visitors" half. He outmuscled Laurent Koscelny to fashion his side's first attempt after 20 minutes, but struck the ball directly at a grateful Wojciech Szczesny. Ngog was both brilliant and careless with his next effort shortly afterwards, turning smartly with his back to goal, but volleying wide when the hard work looked done. Arsenal's response should have given them a first-half lead. Oxlade- Chamberlain was involved again, this time handing Theo Walcott a one-on-one with the opposing goalkeeper. A tame finish followed, Bogdan able to block with his legs with minimum physical movement. Oxlade-Chamberlain was increasingly influential, demonstrating why the Arsenal fans throw such tantrums at the mere thought of his being substituted. He has pace, plenty of courage and an eye of for a pass. These are classic traits of Wenger's greatest teams. But he needs to work on his finishing like other strikers in Arsenal's colours in the recent past. The supremacy in possession continued into the second half, but it was a cutting edge that Wenger" side needed. It was no surprise the chants for Thierry Henry began immediately after the interval. Van Persie struck a post from Bacary Sagna's cross on 63 minutes as Owen Coyle's side dangerously retreated into preservation mode, but the inevitable substitution followed. Thierry Henry replaced Oxlade-Chamberlain, the only jeers coming from an uncharitable home crowd, failing to appreciate an ageing genius. The Frenchman was summoned as Bolton were rallying in similar fashion to the first half, Arsenal's frustration growing. Bolton were not without a talisman of their own, with Kevin Davies replacing the fatigued Ngog. The brief for Davies was basic enough: to inflict as much mental scarring as possible on the opposing centre-half. However, it was Van Persie who came closets to a breakthrough. Van Persie's 20-yard chip seemed to glide for a minute before bouncing off the top of the bar to safety.