Arsenal 2, Wanderers 2: THERE is no better measure of a man's character than how he handles disappointment.

Wilt and he will go under, react positively and he will be all the stronger for the experience.

Henrik Pedersen proved once again on Saturday that he has the mettle to rise to any challenge that comes his way.

Smarting at the start of the week after some pointed comments from Sam Allardyce, who suggested he might think twice before going off on international duty again if it affected his form as it did in the first half against Manchester United, he responded magnificently.

His fourth goal of the season - a neat first touch to collect Les Ferdinand's flick-on then a scruffy shot - earned Wanderers a point at Highbury that appeared to shake the very foundations of those famous marble halls and made the rest of the Premiership sit up and take notice, if they had not already.

Wanderers are a force in the land and Arsenal are not invincible.

As Pedersen flapped his arms extravagantly in his now familiar "peacock" celebration in front of the ecstatic Wanderers fans tucked into the corner of the Clock End, Arsene Wenger was left wondering just what had hit him.

The extension of Arsenal's unbeaten run to 46 games counted for nothing as he examined how the league's only 100 per cent record had been ended by Allardyce's tactical astuteness, the fighting spirit of the Bolton players to twice come from behind and the defensive naivety of the team regarded by many - even the Bolton manager - as arguably the best in the world!

Pedersen had every reason to be proud.

"It was a major achievement to come from behind twice to get a point at Highbury," he said. "It shows how well we have been playing this season and how much we've been fighting for each other to the last minute of every game.

"It makes up for last week when every one of us was disappointed when United equalised in the last minute."

It also made up for the bitter disappointment of being substituted at half time and seeing his replacement, El-Hadji Diouf, turn the game so effectively in Wanderers' favour. This time it was Diouf's turn to be hauled off as Allardyce produced a double substitution just 10 minutes into the second half that was to pay handsome dividends.

Moments later man of the match Radhi Jaidi headed home his first Premiership goal from Jay-Jay Okocha's corner to cancel out Thierry Henry's stunning first half finish and, although Jose Antonio Reyes and Freddie Ljungberg combined with breathtaking efficiency for Robert Pires to put the Gunners back in front, it was Pedersen, with a lot of help from fellow sub Ferdinand, who had the last word.

"I was unhappy to have been left out of the side that started the game so I was determined to do my best and make an impact when I got out there so the manager will choose me next time," said the man who has repeatedly seen off challenges to his first team place.

"We weren't afraid going to Highbury. We just wanted to carry on our superb start to the season. We've had a great six-game run if you take the Fulham one away.

"We have played very well in the others and got a lot of points. That's what kept us going in this game."

Five points from what looked a daunting three-match run against Liverpool, Manchester United and Arsenal has confirmed to the rest of the Premiership - and perhaps to many of their own followers - that Wanderers are a force to be reckoned with and that finishing eighth last season was no flash in the pan.

They deserved their point at Highbury, Wenger acknowledged as much in a generous appreciation of their qualities and of Allardyce's management skills, just as they deserved their victory over Liverpool and the draw they unfortunately had to settle for against United. They set about the task well, working hard, identifying Arsenal's strengths and denying them space to play. Above all, they refused to be intimidated by their reputation.

"We've got good results from the games against Liverpool, United and Arsenal because we believe in the strength of our squad, we think it is very good, Pedersen added.

"I don't think our success is anything to do with other clubs not realising how good we are because they do know now, especially after the last three games. Our results have shown we are a good side but I think people knew that before we went into these matches.

"Two or three points may have been a more realistic target in our minds before the games so we have to be happy with five but I don't know how far we can go this season.

"There are only six games gone and we've got to keep this great run going."

Allardyce, who continues to build his own reputation for exploiting even the slightest weakness in the opposition, suggested Arsenal showed signs of fatigue after the exertions of their midweek Champions League victory over PSV. Wenger disagreed but there were signs, long before they were undone by their failure to cope with Wanderers' aerial threat, that they were not at their fluent best.

For that, credit Wanderers - Okocha, Ivan Campo and Gary Speed in particular - for not allowing the Gunners creative midfield, which is so often the key to their success, to get into any rhythm. Given the chance, Arsenal can mercilessly tear teams to ribbons - as they showed when Henry raced on to Patrick Vieira's through ball to break the deadlock on 31 minutes. Jussi Jaaskelainen had earlier denied the Frenchman with an outstanding save but this time Henry's finish was pure class.

But that was it from the "Va Va Vroom" man as Jaidi rose to the biggest challenge of his domestic career - literally.

He will be remembered for the towering 56th minute header that earned him the distinction of being the first Tunisian to score a Premiership goal but it was his performances in defence that laid a solid foundation for Wanderers' success.

As happy as he was with such a well-deserved if hard-earned point, Allardyce will scrutinise the defending that twice put Arsenal in the driving seat and check if Jaidi's Premiership inexperience played a part.

But he cannot help but enthuse at how quickly the African has settled into his new surroundings and how effective he has been.

A challenge, maybe, to his own reputation as an uncompromising defender who made his enormous presence felt at the other end? "Certainly not," said the manager, smiling as he recalled the towering headers from his Burnden Park days: "I used to put them in from a bit further out than that!"

How the manager's mood had changed from a week ago. He could even gloss over the second half flare-up when he had to be restrained by the fourth official, Dermot Gallagher, after stepping onto the field in a rage at referee Phil Dowd for booking Ricardo Gardner for a challenge on Ljungberg.

Wenger had taken great exception to his pre-match remarks that referees "favoured" the top teams and had he not had a precious point to savour at the end, Big Sam might have been tempted to talk himself into big trouble.

But he was a study in calm when he said later: "If that's all I've got to complain about then I'm very happy about his (Dowd's) performance. He was very fair to both sides and that's all I ask for."