William Gallas' late goal rescued Arsenal a 1-1 draw with Dynamo Kiev in their opening Champions League Group G game.
Gunners leave in late in Kiev
William Gallas' late goal rescued Arsenal a 1-1 draw with Dynamo Kiev in their opening Champions League Group G game.
The Gunners skipper bundled home Theo Walcott's cross from close-range two minutes from time to deny Kiev a famous victory.
Dynamo looked on course for a surprise win when Ismael Bangoura gave them the lead from the penalty spot on 64 minutes after Bacary Sagna was adjudged to have dragged Ognjen Vukojevic to the ground inside the box.
Arsenal were far from their best and Gunners boss Arsene Wenger will be relieved to take a point from their trip to the Ukraine.
Arsenal's small travelling section almost had something to celebrate inside two minutes.
Van Persie got in down the right channel from Walcott's pass, but his low angled shot was saved at the near post by Stanislav Bogush.
In the 19th minute, Adebayor capitalised on poor control by Roman Eremenko and sprinted into the Dynamo penalty area.
However, the Togo striker - who netted a hat-trick against Blackburn on Saturday - sent his shot wide when he really should have hit the target.
When Arsenal gave the ball away carelessly, Dynamo captain Andriy Nesmachniy could only smash a 25-yard drive high over the crossbar.
As half-time approached, Van Persie rifled the ball into the side netting following good work from full-back Sagna down the right.
Chance
Arsenal carved out an even better chance when Adebayor fed Van Persie with a ball across goal, which was cut back for Fabregas - but he could only manage a tame shot straight at the keeper from six yards.
At the start of the second half, Kiev almost snatched the lead when Eremenko got clear down the right and cut inside Gallas.
Manuel Almunia got a fingertip to his shot, which came back off the inside of the post and the Arsenal keeper was able to gather.
Walcott had to briefly go off for treatment for cramp, but was soon back in the action as he set up Van Persie down the left - only for the Dutchman to skew his shot horribly wide.
Fabregas was on target again with a 25-yard drive, but once more hit the ball straight at the Kiev keeper.
Penalty
A mistake by Gallas allowed Bangoura to get away down the right.
Although Arsenal tracked back, the ball was eventually played into the penalty area where Vukojevic went down under pressure from Sagna - and the referee had seen enough contact from the defender to immediately point to the spot before booking him.
Guinea international Bangoura stepped up to send Almunia the wrong way and,after 64 minutes, turn the match in favour of the hosts.
Arsenal, though, still looked vulnerable to the counter-attack as they chased the game, and Bangoura hit the side netting following another quick break down the Dynamo left.
Emmanuel Eboue replaced Sagna for the final 13 minutes before a far-post header by Adebayor almost sneaked in.
Mexican striker Carlos Vela came on for Van Persie in a last throw of the dice by Wenger - and Arsenal rescued a point when Gallas bundled in at the far post following a low cross by Walcott for the skipper's third goal of the European campaign this season.
| Dinamo Kiev |
Team Statistics |
Arsenal |
| 1 |
Goals |
1 |
| 0 |
1st Half Goals |
0 |
| 2 |
Shots on Target |
5 |
| 8 |
Shots off Target |
4 |
| 7 |
Blocked Shots |
3 |
| 3 |
Corners |
8 |
| 17 |
Fouls |
14 |
| 2 |
Offsides |
4 |
| 4 |
Yellow Cards |
1 |
| 0 |
Red Cards |
0 |
| 84.9 |
Passing Success |
86.1 |
| 14 |
Tackles |
21 |
| 85.7 |
Tackles Success |
66.7 |
| 46.6 |
Possession |
53.4 |
| 44.3 |
Territorial Advantage |
55.7 |
|
