Eduardo returned to haunt Arsenal as Shakhtar Donetsk delayed the Gunners' bid to reach the knock-out phase.

Former striker prevents Arsenal's early progress

Eduardo returned to haunt Arsenal as Shakhtar Donetsk delayed the Gunners' bid to reach the knock-out phase of the UEFA Champions League. The former Arsenal striker pointedly refused to celebrate as he side-footed home the winner on the stroke of half-time, a measure of the respect he still holds for the club who stood by him as he battled back from a horrific leg break in 2008. Arsene Wenger's side, who knew a victory would see them qualify from Group H, forged ahead following a lightning break with only 10 minutes on the clock as Theo Walcott burst clear onto Jack Wilshere's pass down the left before beating Andriy Pyatov with a measured finish. But any thoughts of a repeat of the 5-1 drubbing dished out at Emirates Stadium two weeks ago, when Eduardo received a standing ovation for his late consolation, were swiftly erased. Mircea Lucescu's men drew level before the half-hour mark when Dmytro Chygrynskiy glanced a curling free-kick goalwards and the unfortunate Craig Eastmond could only deflect the ball beyond Lukasz Fabianski. And the home side went in front just before the break as Gael Clichy's dithering at left-back gifted possession to Darijo Srna, with the Shakhtar skipper cutting the ball back for Croatia international Eduardo to slot home. Wenger had warned his team not to expect another romp against a side which boasted an impressive home record, the Miners having kept clean sheets in nine of 10 matches, and lost just two of the last 30 games in all competitions. However, it was Arsenal who came close to breaking the deadlock on eight minutes when Samir Nasri strode forward to the edge of the Shakhtar box and sent a low shot against the outside of the post.

Stunned silence

At the other end, Chygrynskiy's close-range header from a corner was blocked by Sebastien Squillaci before the Donbass Arena was left in stunned silence as Walcott put Arsenal ahead on 10 minutes. Wilshere - back after serving a three-match domestic ban - laid the ball into the path of the on-rushing England forward, who showed the Shakhtar defence a clean pair of heels before breaking into the area and slotting a cool finish past Pyatov into the right-hand corner. The Ukrainians immediately went on the offensive, and there was an amazing let-off for Arsenal on 16 minutes. Jadson's snapshot smashed into Johan Djourou, with the Brazilian midfielder then heading against the post as the home side remained on the attack, before Fabianski made a brilliant reaction save to deny Chygrynskiy from the resulting corner. Swiss referee Massimo Busacca allowed play to go on after Tomas Hubschman flattened Wilshere, before then showing the yellow card first to Emmanuel Eboue for tripping Jadson on the left flank following a swift counter-attack and also then booking the Czech midfielder. It proved a somewhat controversial decision as from the resulting free-kick, Shakhtar equalised when the unfortunate Eastmond deflected Chygrynskiy's header into his own net on 29 minutes. Arsenal were now in danger of being over-run, as Shakhtar continued to pour forwards and Jadson should have done better when played into the penalty area, but his shot was straight at the keeper.

Surging

Nicklas Bendtner fed Walcott on the penalty spot after a surging run from Eastmond, but Yaroslav Rakitskiy made a saving tackle just as the England forward shaped to shot. On the stroke of half-time, the home side went ahead when Srna capitalised on Clichy's hesitation on the nearside touchline and slotted the ball across the six-yard box, where Eduardo swept home. At the start of the second half, Wilshere had a great chance to equalise when he robbed Willian on the edge of the area, only to bend the ball wide before Walcott then scuffed his effort following another scramble inside the Shakhtar box. The home fans were screaming for a penalty when Jadson took a tumble, but the referee was not interested. Arsenal wasted another opportunity to get level when Squillaci headed straight at the keeper from six yards out after more patient build-up and a fine cross from Nasri and Walcott's snapshot was caught by Pyatov as the English side continued to press. Fabianski got behind Srna's curling, 20-yard free-kick as the hosts looked to wrap up the victory. With eight minutes to go, Wenger looked to inject some fresh legs into the Arsenal attack when he sent on youngster Jay Emmanuel-Thomas, replacing Walcott. However, the hosts were not troubled as they moved level on nine points with Arsenal in the battle for Group H.

Shakhtar Donetsk	Team Statistics	Arsenal
2	Goals	1
2	1st Half Goals	1
10	Shots on Target	8
4	Shots off Target	3
6	Blocked Shots	1
7	Corners	3
11	Fouls	16
1	Offsides	0
3	Yellow Cards	1
0	Red Cards	0
75.5	Passing Success	84
30	Tackles	19
93.3	Tackles Success	63.2
44.5	Possession	55.5
41.9	Territorial Advantage	58.1