Arsenal have not lost a London derby in the league since 2001, and few teams would have come as close to breaking that record as Crystal Palace did on Saturday night.

An opening half that was almost devoid of any incident was followed by fireworks in a second period which Palace could, and perhaps should have won.

A minute after Aki Riihilati had restored parity after Thierry Henry's goal, a Greek tragedy saw Eagles substitute Vassilios Lakis blaze over from six yards when it was easier to score.

Speaking after the game, Palace boss Iain Dowie, who had earlier labelled his side "outstanding", refused to blame Lakis for his glaring miss.

He said: "He was unlucky not to get the winner, but I've missed much easier chances than that before, and I made a living from scoring goals.

"He's obviously disappointed not to have scored, but I'm not going to knock him as he put in a great cross for our goal.

"Maybe we should have nicked it but, of all the teams I've ever played against, I've never been on edge as much as I was against Arsenal, because they can conjure a goal from anywhere.

"Some of their players are as good as I've seen. We had some artisans competing against their artists.

"But this is the best atmosphere I've ever experienced at Selhurst. That's what we're here for a full house, and to compete with Arsenal."

In contrast to the Palace fans, the Arsenal support was unusually subdued, as they were forced to watch their usually fluent side struggle to break down a resilient home defence.

This despite the fact that after 20 minutes the Eagles' injury list lengthened as the Uruguayan central defender Gonzalo Sorondo, making his league debut in place of Fitz Hall, was forced to limp off with a pulled hamstring.

He was replaced by Mikele Leigertwood, impressive against Charlton in the Carling Cup and again here, who slotted in at right-back and allowed Boyce to push into the middle.

But the change failed to disrupt Palace's organisation and the first-half, summed up by a tame left-footed effort from Freddie Ljungberg just before the whistle, ended in stalemate.

The start of the second-half began in the same pattern as the first with the Arsenal midfield, led by the usually dominant Patrick Vieira, knocked out of their stride by the hustle and bustle of the excellent triumvirate of Hughes, Riihilati and Watson.

Then in the 66th minute, the one moment of real quality in a hitherto poor game produced a goal for Henry, who converted from close range following a flowing move down Arsenal's right flank.

However, within two minutes Palace were level through Riihilati, but despite chances at both ends, the best of which fell to Arsenal substitute Robin van Persie, the game ended in a draw.

Tonight Palace travel to Old Trafford for their Carling Cup clash, ahead of a trip to Liverpool in the Premiership on Saturday.