Arsenal:
                Lehmann
         Lauren Toure Cygan Cole
Ljungberg (van Persie 82) Vieira Cesc Pires
        Bergkamp (Reyes 72) Henry

We started well. After a minute Dennis tried a crafty drag-back of Freddie's cross from the right, aiming to put it into Henry's path. But for once the eyes in the back of Bergkamp's head were shut and Thierry had made a slightly different run.

A minute later Freddie popped up on the other side of the pitch, and again played it infield to Dennis just inside the box. This time he tried a quick shot which went short of the near post.

On 5 a Panathinaikos player hit a shot from distance which swerved wide of Lehmann's left hand post, but the keeper looked to have had it covered. Then, as we were passing the ball around near the halfway line, Dennis slipped just inside their half as he tried to get to a slightly mis-placed pass, and Cygan did really well to come across and slide in to take the loose ball before the striker got to it, snuffing out what could have been a dangerous break.

Let's say it now: Cygan had an awesome game. I lost count of the number of times that it was his positioning and quickness of thought that prevented a dangerous situation from developing, and he came up with some massive tackles in the box too.

We were having more possession in this first period, but the moves were tending to break down on the edge of their box while theirs were tending to end with hopeful shots from distance. Having said that, it wasn't that Panathinaikos had come just to defend. In fact, as it went on they came into the game more and more, and looked more and more dangerous.

So it was something of a relief when we were awarded a penalty on 15 minutes. Fabregas was fouled from behind 10 yards or so outside the box on the right. Bergkamp crossed it in and it came straight through to the keeper. But what's this? Vieira's in a heap on the ground and the ref's blown for something. Apparently there was contact (not seen a replay yet) and it may well have been a rightful penalty. But clearly it was the sort of challenge that goes unpunished all the time. So, good decision by the Spanish ref says we. The away team didn't seem to think so, and one particularly nasty character called Skacel did his best to distract Henry, first by standing in front of the penalty-taker and then, after Vieira had shoved him out the way, by leaning over and mouthing off at him as he ran up to take it. Henry paused markedly in the middle of his run-up (can you do that now?) and hit it low inside the left hand post.

5 minutes later we had a nice break started by a fantastic first touch from Henry on the left wing, which controlled a long hard pass and turned his marker in one movement. He brought it forward and more central and slipped it into the path of Bergkamp's criss-crossing run onyl for Dennis to be fouled outside the box (on the left). As the wall was getting itself organised Henry asked the ref if he could take it quick, which he could, but the keeper was alert to it so Thierry's chip into his arms ended up looking like a pass-back.

A few minutes later Cygan conceded a foul to the left of his box, and they had a half-chance from the free-kick, the header going wide from the middle of the box.

Then Cygan played a really poor weak ball out of defence to Vieira, but the skipper did amazingly well to retain possession and lobbed it forward for Freddie. He nodded it on and then went down under the attentions of 2 defenders as they chased into the box. Looked more like a penalty than the penalty to me, but like I said I haven't seen any replays yet.

Oh, and I know I just described a couple of dodgy moments from Cygan but that was all. Apart from that he really did have a terrific (if unfortunate) game.

Moments later Henry hit a great cross from the left for Vieira who received the ball in the crowded box and tried to control it instead of having a quick pop at goal, the ball ending up getting tangled up between his legs.

Freddie got body-checked just outside the box and Henry left the free-kick to Cole, but he just blasted it high over the bar. Then as halftime approached Henry went on a typical run to the goal-line on the left and played it across goal. Also typically, we didn't have anyone making a run to the near post and although there were 2 red shirts near the far post, the keeper stopped it getting that far.

The second half started with a couple of moves each of which ended with a wasted ball by Henry. First Freddie started a move with a tackle on the right wing, and it came to Henry via Cesc and Pires. He took it deep but hit his cross onto the roof of the net.

Then Lehmann fell onto a dangerous cross and started a quick break ending with another woeful ball by Henry, this time allowing an easy interception.

10 minutes into the half Pires went on a terrific slaloming run through the midfield, Pires at his best, but when he played Henry through on the right, Thierry had drifted offside.

Cygan chased a striker towards his own goal-line as the ball was chipped over for him to run onto, and nudged him off the ball nicely. Nothing wrong in it at all, but fair play to the Panathinaikos player for not making a meal of it. With half an hour to go Henry got booked for what looked like nothing. He was trying to win the ball back, putting on the pressure in the Panathinaikos half, and the defender with the ball went down as Henry pelted past him. Looked like a harsh yellow card, but it is a big fdanger if you're going to go charging around like that. Worth noting anyway, that until that moment Arsenal were the only team in the Champions League not to have been shown a yellow card in this year's competition.

With half an hour to go, a free kick was lofted towards our penalty area and nodded on by Kotsios. Ashley Cole got tangled up with Papadopolus clsoe to goal and again the ref pointed to the spot (again, I didn't see much and haven't seen any replays yet, what I do know is that Papadopolus was stretchered straight off and looked to be in a lot of pain). Basinas stepped up to take the penalty and although the Arsenal players didn't try to put him off us fans in the Clock End did our best. I think that's what made him smile just before he took it, and belted it high over Lehmann's left hand upright.

10 minutes later there was some breathtaking play by Bergkamp on the right, taking the ball forward then keeping possession brilliantly before laying it off to Cesc for a first time shot, but he tried to pass it on instead and the chance was wasted (a bit later he did try a shot, but from much further out and he got right under it, a right Jonny Wilkinson). But Bergkamp had had a quiet second half up until that point and it was no surprise to see him replaces by Reyes soon after. Quite a surprise that Reyes wasn't brought on earlier, to be frank. Perhaps the hand was more badly injured than we thought (Bob Wilson reckoned, on the radio, that it was a fracture), but it didn't seem so when he did eventually come on a galvanise things.

Unfortunately, almost as soon as Reyes did come on, Panathinaikos attacked up their right, and Vintra hit the ball towards Lehmann's right hand post. Don't know if it was intended as a shot or a cross - I think it was going wide but Lehmann was moving across to cover it anyway (there was a Greek player coming in at that post). Instead, it deflected off Cygan's head and inside the post that Jens was moving away from. Terribly unlucky for Pascal but, to be fair, no more than the visitors deserved.

Arsenal did pick things up, whether it was because of the equaliser or because of the introduction of Reyes is debatable, but a miniute after that equaliser it was Reyes who came ever so close to taking us ahead again. His first shot from inside the box on the left was saved well at point blank range. The rebound came back to Jose very quickly and he did well to hit it goalwards again. He got it over the keeper but saw it crash back out off the underside of the crossbar.

Skacel (the one who tried to put Henry off at the penalty) got himself booked and treated us to some hilarious histrionics, falling to his knees and holding his head in both hands. The rest of the game was nerve-wracking stuff. van Persie came on for Freddie and had a couple of decent shots on goal blocked , as did Pires. But up the other end Panathiunaikos were attacking too and would have scored if not for an exceptional interception by Lauren. That could turn out to be the crucial moment of the game, because while a draw is not good, a loss would have been the end. It is still, at least, in our hands. 2 wins and we go through. The first is against PSV, at their place, and while it's a pretty tricky tie, perhaps the knowedge that a win is very much required will get the Arsenal team going. It worked last year after all.

Why were we so bad? Well, it's worth pointing out that we've done a lot lot worse since Gilberto went out injured, and that we're not bossing the midfield quite as much as we've come to expect. Coincidence? Probably not. As we've mentioned before, when there are 2 of the other 3 central midfielders out there, the distribution of responsibilities is far less clear. I can't help feeling that it would have been Gilberto closing down Vintra as he approached to score off Cygan's bonce.