Curse of Kiev - Gunners Made to Rue Missed Chances

Arsenal's first test in this year's Champions League group stage began at the Valeri Lobanovski Stadium last night against a hard working Dynamo Kiev side with the match ending in a 1-1 draw. Even though Arsene Wenger has said that getting a point would be a good start, many would feel that it was two points dropped by the Gunners.

Having started well, Arsenal began to lose the foothold of the game and Kiev began to press and gain more and more possession of the ball. Midway into the second half, Ismael Bangoura gave Kiev the lead with a controversially awarded penalty. The Gunners looked lost after conceding the goal.

They struggled to string passes together and looked vulnerable to the counter attack, if the Kiev attack had more composure and conviction, the game could have been out of reach for Arsene Wenger's team. It was to be William Gallas's night, however, as the Arsenal skipper came up with the vital equaliser.

The goal was as controversial as the penalty, as replays show that Gallas could be offside by the time the ball reached him, thankfully, the linesman blinked at the crucial time. Alarm bells were ringing for Kiev as soon as the 4th minute when Van Persie drifted in field and picked up a delightful pass from Theo Walcott, the Dutchman's right foot drive was saved by Kiev's goalkeeper making their defence looked to be there for the taking.

Kiev's defence was at fault again when Adebayor somehow drove past two defenders and found himself one-on-one with the goalkeeper. Yet, the in-form striker curled his shot wide. Fabregas had a close range effort saved after failing to connect with the ball properly.

The Ukrainian team had chances of their own albeit mostly half-chances. But in the 64th minute, Bangoura got away from William Gallas on the right, laying the ball to his full back who striked a good cross into the box. Bacary Sagna had a tangle with Vukojevic, and the referee wasted no time in pointing to the spot.

It was rather harsh on Sagna as he seemed to be the one being fouled. Bangoura slotted the penalty with ease and Kiev looked home and dry for a famous win. Arsenal were failing to carve out chances and lost possession far too many times, leaving Wenger a frustrated figure on the sidelines.

That was until Theo Walcott whipped in a low cross that took a couple of deflections before reaching Gallas's toe for the simplest of finishes. Arsene Wenger will not be too happy about the scoreline, nor the performance, despite creating chances, the team lacked the killer instinct yet again.

The team also looked very shaky at the back when they were chasing an equaliser, they got away with it here, but won't be able to do so in the Premiership or against better oppositions in Europe.