Blackburn earned their first victory of the season to ease the pressure on manager Steve Kean as they came from behind to beat Arsenal at Ewood Park.
The result lifts Blackburn off the foot of the table, while for Arsenal their stuttering start to the season continues with Arsene Wenger’s side beaten in three of their opening five Premier League games.
The Gunners took the lead through Gervinho who fired past Paul Robinson from 12-yards but Blackburn equalised following debutant Yakubu’s deft finish.
Arsenal’s Mikel Arteta scored from just inside the box after Aaron Ramsey’s intelligent cutback before Alex Song put the ball into his own net from Ruben Rochina free-kick.
Yakubu tapped in Steven Nzonzi’s shot across goal for 3-2, then Laurent Koscielny bundled past his own keeper after Martin Olsson’s fine run and cross.
Marouane Chamakh’s late headed consolation completed the scoring while Arsenal had late chances to rescue a point.
Kean was the subject of a pre-match protest by the club’s fans who called for his dismissal prior to this game.
The Blackburn manager has maintained throughout the week that he was the right man to turn around the club’s fortunes this season.
And this result will go some way to convincing the sceptics that he is up the job.
Yakubu celebrates his goal
His side were seemingly beaten at the break, 2-1 down they were convincingly outplayed and were lucky to go into half-time only a goal behind. But they showed great spirit after the break and totally out-played, out-muscled and ultimately out-classed a fragile Arsenal unit.
Gervinho opened the scoring – his first league goal for the club – with a decent low strike that took a slight deflection on its way across Robinson goal.
The goal should have rang alarm bells for Kean with the unmarked Gervinho played in by a simple pass from Song, it was awful defending from Blackburn.
Yakubu
As ever his side were a threat from set pieces with Chris Samba twice heading wide when he should have hit the target while at the other end Robinson was keeping them in the game with saves from Andrey Arshavin and Gervinho.
But just as Arsenal seemed on the verge of adding to their lead Blackburn grabbed a lifeline with debutant Yakubu scoring his first goal for the club with a deft finish past the on-rushing Wojciech Szczesny following a fine pass from David Hoilett.
Crucially though Blackburn could not hold on until half-time. Arteta restored the visitors lead, smashing the ball into the net from the edge of the box for his first Arsenal goal after Ramsey’s pass.
Blackburn were back in the game soon after the restart in fortuitous circumstances after Song turned Rochina’s free-kick into his own net and it proved the catalyst they needed to mount a stunning comeback.
Moments later Rovers should have taken the lead with Rochina firing straight at Szczesny when one on one following Hoilett’s superb pass.
Minutes after, Blackburn’s amazing turnaround was complete with the marginally onside Yakubu tapping in from close range following Nzonzi’s wayward shot across goal.
And they soon doubled their lead when Arsenal put the ball into their own net for the second time in the game with Koscielny turning Olsson’s cross past Szczesny following a fine run from his own half by the Blackburn man.
Soon after, Blackburn were thankful to Robinson after he pulled off a superb reaction save from Robin van Persie’s powerful header.
But with five minutes remaining Arsenal were back in the game through Chamakh who headed van Persie’s cross past Robinson from close range.
The goal breathed life into Arsenal’s challenge and in stoppage time they should have been level but Per Mertesacker inexplicably headed over when he should really have found the target.
And much to the relief of Kean his side held on and a planned post-match protest from Blackburn’s fans was nowhere to be seen.
