The Gunners - who now trail leaders Manchester United by seven points with a match in hand - had plenty of possession, but were unable to really test Paul Robinson.
Rovers - who had lost five of the last eight matches - grew in confidence and survived the sending-off of midfielder Steven Nzonzi to earn a useful point in their battle against relegation.
With United having coming from behind to win at West Ham earlier this afternoon, Arsenal could not afford another off day following two successive draws before the international break - but that is exactly what transpired.
It had been a positive start by the Gunners, with fit-again Theo Walcott looking lively down the right.
After four minutes, the England winger got away to the edge of the Rovers box before squaring to Alex Song and his shot was deflected behind.
Walcott was proving too hot to handle and his low centre across goal was hacked clear by Ryan Nelsen before he was then denied at the near post by Robinson.
Rovers - just a point above the drop zone - were in danger of being overrun.
However, Steve Kean's men were given some respite when full-backs Martin Olsson and Bacary Sagna collided when going for a 50/50 on the touchline, leaving the Rovers man worse off.
Samir Nasri then needed treatment for a clash of heads with Nelsen, returning with a thick bandage.
That break in play interrupted Arsenal's flow and on 23 minutes, Rovers had an opportunity when Laurent Koscielny tripped David Hoilett 22 yards out in a central position.
Brett Emerton, however, smashed the free-kick high into the stands.
Arsenal were soon back on the offensive and broke quickly when Robin van Persie fed Nasri on the overlap, but as the Frenchman cut the ball back on to the penalty spot, Jack Wilshere somehow stabbed his first-time shot wide.
Manuel Almunia had been a spectator, but the keeper was almost embarrassed when Olsson's 25-yard effort took a slight deflection and he was left out of position as the ball bounced off his gloves and rolled just past the post.
Hoilett then cut inside Sagna before darting into the penalty area only to skew his shot wide.
Walcott burst clear from a quick throw-out, but had no support and eventually dragged his shot wide from 20 yards.
Rovers sent a long ball into the Arsenal box from a free-kick in their own half, which Almunia failed to punch and Nzonzi saw his backward header drop just wide.
Again the hosts started brightly at the restart as Van Persie got away down the left to force a corner, which the Dutchman went across to take and then whipped straight across the face of goal.
The game, though, soon slipped back into the same pattern as Rovers continued to break up Arsenal's attacks with relative ease.
Frustrations boiled over again when Wilshere elected to pass back to Andrey Arshavin rather than shoot, the ball going behind for a corner, which Koscielny guided goalwards but Robinson held.
Wenger had seen enough and with 32 minutes to go, sent on Captain Cesc Fabregas, replacing Arshavin, on his return from a hamstring injury.
Arsenal, however, continued to lack a creative spark in the final third as time and again they failed to find the decisive pass.
Van Persie made space for a low shot at the edge of the area, but Robinson was down quickly.
Wilshere needed treatment after falling on his shoulder when sliding for a loose ball on the far side.
On 76 minutes, Rovers were reduced to 10 men when Nzonzi was shown a straight red card after jumping in two-footed on Koscielny.
Wilshere's quick feet saw the ball pulled back for substitute Marouane Chamakh on the penalty spot, but his shot was blocked by Olsson's brave dive.
Robinson produced a fine save from Chamakh's deflected header, but the whistle had already gone for a push by the Moroccan.
Fabregas smashed a 25-yard free-kick into the wall as Arsenal's frustration continued.
Michel Salgado blocked Bendtner's goalbound header off the line, and Van Persie nodded over in stoppage time to leave Arsenal counting a costly third successive draw.
Blackburn defender Chris Samba praised the team's spirit as they held Arsenal to a goalless draw at the Emirates.
''It was very tough today,'' Samba said on ESPN. ''We showed great spirit at the end when Steven got sent off. We stayed together and today we showed we wanted to stay in the league. It's really encouraging for the next game.''
Martin Olsson added: ''We always had good spirit in the team and I think we showed today the commitment in the team.''
Rovers boss Steve Kean felt his team are showing progress.
''We set out a plan to make sure their midfield three did not get as much time on the ball as they like and we did that well in the first half,'' he said. ''When we lost a man we thought 'here we go', but we showed good togetherness and the lads were tremendous with a fantastic appetite to get something. It is a very important point and keeps our momentum going.''
On the sending off, when Nzonzi was shown a straight red card for a two-footed challenge on Laurent Koscielny after 76 minutes, the Rovers boss admitted it was a decision which could have gone either way.
''When I first saw it looked a bit nasty, but when I've seen it again got some of the ball,'' Keane said. ''But it is one of those which is sometimes a yellow and sometimes a red.
''The player is devastated because he is not a malicious player and thought he made a genuine attempt for a 50/50 ball.''
Wenger was at a loss to explain the lacklustre display which resulted in a costly third successive draw.
''It was a frustrating performance because we had no pace in our game. Overall it was a flat performance with a lack of energy level, a lack of sharpness. It was quite a big concern to see what we have seen today,'' he told ESPN Extra Time. ''It is difficult to identify one special thing.
''I felt we started okay and after our game became flat. Very few players looked to have the resources to put the pace up in the game.
''Part of it is down to the fact that Blackburn defended well but I don't put the majority of reasons down to that. I feel it is more down to our poor offensive performance today.''
Despite the blow of seeing three other chances of silverware fall by the wayside in the past month, Wenger is not about to give up on overhauling United just yet. However, the Gunners boss accepts his team must rediscover that winning feeling.
''We have to focus on our performance, not on Manchester United. Before we speak about the title I believe we have to come back to a good level of performance.''
Wenger added: ''I fear nothing, I am concerned about our performance today. I just say that before we speak about the title we have to focus on our performance level, because it was not good enough today.
''That is our first concern. After that we can see, but our performance was flat, so we have to come back to a better level.''
Source: ESPN Soccernet on 2 Apr 11
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