Everton 1 Arsenal 1: It may not have been déjà vu, but this will have pained Arsene Wenger nevertheless. For the second successive year, Arsenal's championship challenge has faltered in this arena, foiled by a young striker chomping at the bit.

Where Wayne Rooney prospered last season, it fell to Francis Jeffers - ironically, one of Arsenal's own - to undermine the Londoners, this time around only five minutes after springing from the bench to which his career has become anchored.

Tomasz Radzinski may have scored Everton's deserved equaliser, but it was Jeffers' charge on to Duncan Ferguson's flick and vicious shot which forced Jens Lehmann to parry. The Canadian simply could not miss.

A draw may have extended Arsenal's unbeaten Premiership start to 20 matches, but they trail Manchester United by three points. That may not represent an unbridgeable chasm, but the psychological advantage is steadily creeping towards the champions.

The memory of Rooney's searing arrival on the scene still smarts at Highbury, so replays of the last-minute shot which crashed beyond David Seaman off the underside of the crossbar were replayed with relish prior to kick-off.

Yet David Moyes had been at pains in the build-up to stress that Everton's whole performance in that game, and not just the explosive finale conjured by the then 16-year-old, had floored the Londoners and jettisoned a 30-match unbeaten league sequence.

As if inspired, the home side began just as ruggedly here, a busy midfield initially starving the visitors of time and space in which to prosper while Ferguson unsettled his markers with customary aggression.

If Moyes's selection was surprisingly bold - a trio of forwards buzzed with venom - it did allow Rooney, recovered from an abductor problem, to maraud at will, with the teenager a wriggling nuisance Arsenal could not swat.

Everton should have led as Wenger paced the touchline in clear frustration as Lehmann pawed pathetically at Lee Carsley's corner with the loose ball striking Kevin Kilbane at the far post only for Ashley Cole, ever alert, to clear desperately from the line.

Yet, as the Everton manager had been quick to add, Arsenal remain a team "who can be playing average football one minute, then click into a different gear and pass you off the park the next". By the interval, the visitors' stodgy start had been forgotten, an advantage gleaned and Rooney's psychological edge blunted.

The lead emerged from the midfield clutter, with Thierry Henry threading marvellously through the home defence for Kanu to dance around David Unsworth and into the area. The Nigerian collected, veered merrily wide of Nigel Martyn and slid his first league goal of the season into the empty net.

Cue Henry to dazzle on the left, bamboozling two opponents and threatening further reward, only to be denied more by luck as panicked defenders piled frantically into his path.

Even so, parity should have been restored by the interval. The impressive Kilbane found space to cross deliciously from the left and Rooney, in front of goal only six yards out, mistimed his header and sent it embarrassingly wide.

But Rooney never lacks confidence for long. The England striker was perky enough upon the re-start to induce Freddie Ljungberg to break far too early from a defensive wall and, with the free-kick moved forward to the edge of the area, Rooney fired in a shot which Lehmann parried to safety.

The contest had long since turned spiky, and Ljungberg became the third visitor to earn a caution as they attempted to deal with Everton's renewed assaults, though Unsworth was fortunate to avoid worse as he clattered into Pascal Cygan. The centre-half has impressed on Merseyside of late, prompting talk of a new two-year contract, though it was his slip which allowed Henry to glide into the area with Kanu in support only for the Frenchman to over-elaborate. Alan Stubbs recovered possession and the home side's poise.

The attack was typical of Arsenal's adopted approach. With Everton frantic in search of an equaliser, they sat back and bit from deep, springing with venom. Robert Pires speared wide while Henry's ambitious free-kick was claimed by Martyn.

EVERTON: Martyn, Hibbert, Stubbs, Unsworth, Naysmith, Rooney, Carsley, Li Tie (Linderoth 45), Kilbane (Jeffers 70), Radzinski (Campbell 87), Ferguson. Subs Not Used: Simonsen, Yobo. Goals: Radzinski 75.

ARSENAL: Lehmann, Toure (Lauren 20), Cygan, Campbell, Cole, Ljungberg (Silva 89), Parlour, Vieira, Pires, Kanu (Edu 81), Henry. Subs Not Used: Shaaban, Aliadiere. Booked: Parlour, Lauren, Ljungberg. Goals: Kanu 29.

Referee: A Wiley (Staffordshire).