Chelsea dropped two points at home on Sunday, needing an 84th-minute equalizer from Michael Essien to earn a 1-1 draw with Arsenal in the Premier League.
Mathieu Flamini put Arsenal ahead in the 78th, scoring after receiving a pass from Alexander Hleb. Essien then leveled with an incredible long-range shot that went in off the inside of the post.
"The goal was tremendous, unbelievable," Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho said.
Both Essien and Frank Lampard nearly gave Chelsea the win in injury time. Essien hit the crossbar from right in front of goal, and Lampard then hit the post.
The draw gives Manchester United an eight-point lead at the top of the standings, but with one more game played than Chelsea. Man United has 44 points, followed by Chelsea with 36. Arsenal has 26 points.
Mourinho warned Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson not to celebrate his team's lead too much.
"I think he must be happy now because we can say we dropped two points, but if he thinks it's over, he is in trouble," Mourinho said. "Chelsea are ready. We were losing at home with five minutes to go but we had an incredible reaction and should have won the game."
Chelsea dominated the fast-paced game, with the visitors rarely troubling goalkeeper Hilario.
At the other end, Andriy Shevchenko's curling shot in the 15th minute was saved by Arsenal goalkeeper Jens Lehmann and Michael Ballack's long-range effort missed the far post soon after.
Lampard again hit the post soon after and his weaker follow-up shot was caught by Lehmann.
Chelsea defender Ashley Cole, facing his former club for the first time since his acrimonious transfer in August, was jeered by Arsenal fans throughout the game and Mourinho praised him a for a "positive performance."
Shortly before halftime, Arsenal midfielder Cesc Fabregas cleared a shot by Essien off the line with Lehmann on the ground. Essien also headed the ball over the bar.
Arsenal's best first-half chances were from Robin van Persie, who sent one shot wide and had another caught by Hilario. Flamini also headed over.
A Lampard free kick early in the second half was headed over by Didier Drogba. Van Persie also headed over and Emmanuel Adebayor sent a long-range shot wide while Fabregas put a tame shot into the arms of Hilario.
The Blues had a series of chances orchestrated by Arjen Robben, who replaced Shevchenko in the 66th minute. But Lehmann scrambled to deny Robben and Lampard.
Arsenal hasn't beaten Chelsea since Mourinho became manager in June 2004.
"I am frustrated because we wanted to win the game and we were close to winning it," Wenger said. "I do not look at Chelsea. I do not look at Man United. I look at my team. I'm still not giving up to come back on Man United but I concede as well that, at the moment, it looks a bit pretentious."
Mourinho was surprised at Arsenal's intention to play for a draw.
"It was a bit of a surprise for a team who are 18 points behind the leaders to come here not to win, just to go with a draw. It almost says, `We don't want to win the Premiership. We just want to make a positive result at Stamford Bridge.'"
Wenger dismissed Mourinho's claim, noting he played without the suspended Kolo Toure and the injured William Gallas, Thierry Henry and Tomas Rosicky.
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