The striker - still smarting from Holland's mid-week World Cup elimination - was sent off after 71 minutes as the Arsenal defender fell to the turf.

Replays suggested Keown was caught by Hasselbaink's flailing arm, but over-reacted in what was a largely tepid London derby.

Four days shy of the first anniversary of the ignominious sacking of former Blues boss Gianluca Vialli, the clash followed a script that smacked of bygone encounters.

Three of the last four meetings between the two sides at Stamford Bridge have now ended level. This game rarely looked like finishing any other way.

Arsenal, frequently slick on the counter-attack were held by a Chelsea side that for all its penetrative effort, could not produce consistent Championship-challenging form.

The Gunners went ahead after 16 minutes. Henry, attacking from the left, had already carved open the Blues defence for the first shot on goal before he side-footed Arsenal into the lead when Ed de Goey could only weakly parry Robert Pires' angled shot.

The French striker's third of the season came after a brief, but bright spell of Chelsea pressure in which David Seaman saved first from Hasselbaink's acute drive, then Marcel Desailly's eight-yard header.

Despite Henry's hammer-blow, Chelsea continued to grow in stature as former Gunner Emmanuel Petit warmed to his task. Hasselbaink had the ball in the net, but was correctly deemed a yard off-side, before he was handed a golden chance to restore parity.

Keown, starting in place of rested England international Sol Campbell who began on the bench, tried to hold the recalled Gianfranco Zola out of the box, but the defender's vivid red boots clearly collected the Italian's shins a yard inside.

Hasselbaink duly registered his seventh goal in eight appearances against Arsenal - for both Chelsea and former club Leeds - from the spot with a shot that had just enough on it to beat Seaman's right hand.

Passion has too readily become a by-word for petulance in recent encounters but Dennis Wise's transfer to Leicester and Patrick Vieira's suspension were both factors in what began as a more subdued derby atmosphere.

The first booking - against Jesper Gronkjaer for a succession of niggling fouls - took 40 minutes to arrive. The names of Ashley Cole and Giovanni van Bronkhurst were taken in the second half.

Neither side's patience was rewarded with half-time ascendancy though. John Terry directed his header from a corner just over while Dennis Bergkamp's deflected nod towards goal lost just enough pace to allow the wrong-footed de Goey to gather.

The to-and-fro match pattern continued on the resumption. Bergkamp scuffed Sylvain Wiltord's low cross with the goal at his mercy and Desailly again set his sights to high with a header.

Boudewijn Zenden fired his snap-shot from Gronkjaer's incisive pass wide of the near post before in Arsenal's best move of the half, Cole forced de Goey to acrobatically palm away after a one-two with Henry.

Chelsea lost Hasselbaink soon after, but still pressed forward. Frank Lampard was a shoe-size away from poking home at the far post after Zola and William Gallas, making his debut, had fed the ball across goal.

Substitute Kanu - who bagged three in 15 minutes at the Bridge a couple of years back - could have turned match-winner again but de Goey was equal to the task.