an own goal scored by touré meant freddie ljungberg's opener against aston villa was cancelled out and the match ended in a draw, albeit helping arsenal back to first position on goal difference. leading up to the potential championship decider against manchester united on 16 april 2003, wenger was adamant his team were mentally ready to retain the title: "we want to be a team who makes history. that's what's really driving us on. we are not worrying about united too much. we are just concentrating on expressing our togetherness, our mental strength and our qualities. we have enough players who can win this game." having conceded a first half goal scored by ruud van nistelrooy, arsenal overturned manchester united's lead before ryan giggs equalised for the away team. the match ended 2–2; campbell was sent off for elbowing ole gunnar solskjær and was banned the rest of the season, whereas vieira limped off with an injury. although the result helped manchester united move back top, they had played one game more than arsenal. arsenal won their next match at middlesbrough, but squandered a two-goal lead away to bolton wanderers in the last ten minutes. the result, "a big blow" for arsenal's title hopes, meant the championship was now in manchester united's favour.