Gunners fall to Euro jinx

Dynamo Kiev 2 Arsenal 1

Arsenal went behind in Kiev after 27 minutes to a strike by Maksim Shatskikh and were then undone by an awful mistake by keeper Jens Lehmann as Valentin Belkevich was allowed to double the home side's lead.

Although Thierry Henry pulled a goal back for Arsenal with 10 minutes left and Kolo Toure struck the bar late on, the Gunners now need to win all three of their remaining games to reach the knock-out stages.

Although Robert Pires struck the crossbar early on, Arsenal missing the guiding influence of Patrick Vieira went behind on 27 minutes as Maksim Shatskikh punished some hesitant defending, albeit amid a suspicion of offside.

Wenger was certainly bold in his approach, springing a tactical surprise as Robert Pires lined up just behind the front two, and Arsenal made much of the early running, with Pires flicking a header against the crossbar from Henry's eighth-minute corner.

Wenger's side were nevertheless indebted to Jens Lehmann's reflexes soon afterwards as Ashley Cole was caught out of position and Shatskikh turned Kolo Toure before being denied by the German keeper.

That was the signal for a spell of frenzied pressure from Dynamo, with Sergiy Fedorov's close-range back-flick being blocked.

At least the Gunners were not overawed as they traded blows in a fast, free-flowing game, with Parlour shooting just wide from long range and then having another deflected.

Arsenal continued to press, and an excellent move in which Lauren exchanged passes with both Henry and Pires ended with the full-back's shot deflected just past the post.

Arsenal bad luck in the Champions League reared its head again as Dynamo seized the lead amid a suspicion of offside after 27 minutes.

Edu was guilty of dithering as he failed to cut out a loose ball, and when Jerko Leko's shot deflected off the heel of Shatskikh and then back to him off a defender it looked as though the Dynamo striker had been marginally offside before burying his shot past the exposed figure of Lehmann.

Henry threatened briefly at the other end, while Toure just failed to connect with a corner. But Arsenal were back under pressure as Cole had to clear a dangerous cross and then Lehmann tipped over a drive from Tiberiu Ghioane.

Wenger resisted the temptation to bring Vieira on at the break, although the Frenchman was at the side of the pitch to urge on his team-mates as they returned for the second half.

They nearly provided an immediate response, only for Cole to waste a clear opening with a wild shot after Sol Campbell's long ball had set him through on goal, while Henry's header at the far post was blocked.

However, there was still a major scare in the visitors' defence as Oleg Gusev and Fedorov both came within inches of converting a corner that flew across the face of the Arsenal goal, Andriy Nesmachnyi blazed a long-range shot over the top.

Vieira was eventually brought on to replace Edu, while Pires came close to equalising, only for Arsenal to fall further behind soon afterwards before their captain could make any impact.

And this time, Lehmann was badly at fault as he raced wildly out of his penalty area to meet a through-ball but lost control at the vital moment.

When the ball bounced off his chest, the German just managed to beat Diogo Rincon to the ball but succeeded only in diverting it as far as Valentin Belkevich, who drove the shot home with Lehmann out of his goal.

Arsenal did manage to respond as Vieira put through Wiltord, but the striker wasted the opportunity as keeper Oleksander Shovkovskyi saved with his legs

Wenger had no choice but to bring on both Ljungberg and Kanu in a bid to salvage a point and Arsenal were finally given some renewed hope with 10 minutes left as Henry was able to convert Pires' cross from close-range.

Dynamo, meanwhile, wasted a clear chance to make sure of victory when Diogo Rincon blazed a shot wildly over the bar, while Shatskikh also came within inches of the target.

Arsenal searched desperately for an equaliser in the final stages, but Kanu was denied by the keeper's legs and then, deep into injury-time, Toure cannoned a shot off the bar from close range and banged the floor with his fists in deep frustration.

DYNAMO KIEV: Shovkovskiy, Fedorov, Dmytrulin, Belkevich, Peev, Shatskikh, Ghioane, Gusev, Nesmachnyi, Gavrancic, Leko.

ARSENAL: Lehmann, Cole, Lauren, Campbell, Toure, Edu, Silva, Parlour, Pires, Henry, Wiltord.

Referee: Konrad Plautz (Austria)