Arsenal were held to a goalless draw by Italian giants Milan at the Emirates Stadium.
Arsenal held by a resolute Milan side
Arsenal will be disappointed not to have taken a first leg lead against Milan after they dominated proceedings in their UEFA Champions League goalless draw at the Emirates Stadium.
A cagey first-half created little free-flowing football as both sides struggled to breakthrough stubborn defences.
The sight of Kolo Toure limping off inside seven minutes may have worried Gunners supporters, but his replacement Philippe Senderos dealt with the threat posed by Brazilian wonderkid Alexandre Pato more than adequately on after coming on.
Playmaker Kaka found himself restricted to sporadic flashes of brilliance throughout the opening period as Arsenal were able to nullify the threat of Milan's biggest weapons.
At the other end, Emmanuel Adebayor saw a couple of half-chances pass him by on the rare occasions the Gunners got a sight of goal while Mathieu Flamini's tame drive 10 minutes before the interval was easily dealt with by Zeljko Kalac in the only instance that either keeper was really worked.
The second period, however, saw Arsenal much more willing to push forward and they dominated for large periods of the half.
Cesc Fabregas began to exert his dominance on proceedings and he was the architect of numerous half chances for the Gunners.
Mathieu Flamini, Emmanuel Eboue, Adebayor, Eduardo and Fabregas himself all saw efforts either drift narrowly wide or straight at a relieved Kalac as Arsene Wenger's side toiled to no avail against a resolute Milan back-line.
With the game drifting towards a draw, Adebayor then wasted the best opportunity of the night in injury-time when he headed a Theo Walcott cross against the bar when presented with an open goal.
Lively
There was a lively opening to the match, Arsenal's 100th in the Champions League, a century completed under Wenger.
Massimo Ambrosini saw his header saved well by veteran Jens Lehmann - again deputising for Manuel Almunia, who has been struggling with a virus.
The Gunners, though, did not look to sit back, and mounted a quick counter attack from a long throw by Lehmann, which picked out Adebayor.
The gangly Togo frontman skipped clear of the defence, only to see his path to goal blocked by a saving tackle from Massimo Oddo.
Patient
Milan - seven times European champions - remained patient, but Arsenal continued to press.
Both Eduardo and Senderos nearly connected with a Cesc Fabregas corner as the Gunners looked to make the most of their possession inside the opening 20 minutes.
The Spaniard then clipped a lovely ball forwards into the path of Adebayor, who got just far enough ahead of marker Kakha Kaladze, but could not keep his 18-yard effort down.
AC Milan, conversely, offered little in terms of attacking threat, with Brazilian ace Kaka hardly involved at all.
Frustrated
The Italians' frustrations were shown when Pato received a caution for pushing over Bacary Sagna as he chased a hopeful long ball into the Arsenal area.
Arsenal continued to work the ball around well, this time freeing Emmanuel Eboue on the overlap down the right.
The Ivory Coast midfielder cut inside before squaring the ball back to Mathieu Flamini on the edge of the box, but his low shot lacked power and was easily gathered by Zeljko Kalac, who had been a major doubt because of a finger injury.
It was then the Frenchman's turn to weave into the penalty area, this time down the left, but his centre was cut out at the near post.
Pressure
Arsenal maintained the pressure at the start of the second half, forcing a couple of corners, and the Gunners should have been ahead after 53 minutes.
Alexander Hleb skipped clear down the right before cutting inside and teeing up Eboue on the edge of the box.
However, the midfielder scuffed his shot into the ground and the ball bobbled wide of the far post.
Adebayor then did have an effort in the net, but was clearly offside following another fine run and pass from Belarus winger Hleb.
Concentration
Arsenal were relentless and in full flow now, with Eduardo sweeping an effort just over after another swift counter-attack.
There was a momentary lapse of concentration in the Gunners' rearguard just after the hour, when Senderos inexplicably backed off Oddo, but the defender blasted his angled drive wide.
After such a bright spell, the tempo of the hosts dropped, as Milan started to enjoy some useful possession of their own.
Wenger made a change with 17 minutes left when Nicklas Bendtner replaced Eduardo.
Crossbar
Space suddenly opened up for Fabregas in a central position, but his low 20-yard effort was too close to Kalac.
Eboue was cautioned for diving following a challenge from Alberto Gilardino in the AC Milan area, as the Gunners' frustration at being unable to find a goal started to show.
At the other end, Lehmann held on to a near-post flick from substitute Alberto Gilardino.
Then, deep into stoppage time, Adebayor saw his close-range header come back off the crossbar from Theo Walcott's cross as the tie remained delicately poised heading into the return leg at the San Siro in a fortnight's time.
| Arsenal |
Team Statistics |
Milan |
| 0 |
Goals |
0 |
| 0 |
1st Half Goals |
0 |
| 6 |
Shots on Target |
2 |
| 9 |
Shots off Target |
4 |
| 2 |
Blocked Shots |
2 |
| 9 |
Corners |
2 |
| 15 |
Fouls |
14 |
| 3 |
Offsides |
4 |
| 2 |
Yellow Cards |
1 |
| 0 |
Red Cards |
0 |
| 81.2 |
Passing Success |
72.8 |
| 30 |
Tackles |
32 |
| 46.7 |
Tackles Success |
81.2 |
| 57.3 |
Possession |
42.7 |
| 56.1 |
Territorial Advantage |
43.9 |
|
| Arsenal |
Team Statistics |
Milan |
| 0 |
Goals |
0 |
| 0 |
1st Half Goals |
0 |
| 6 |
Shots on Target |
2 |
| 9 |
Shots off Target |
4 |
| 2 |
Blocked Shots |
2 |
| 9 |
Corners |
2 |
| 15 |
Fouls |
14 |
| 3 |
Offsides |
4 |
| 2 |
Yellow Cards |
1 |
| 0 |
Red Cards |
0 |
| 81.2 |
Passing Success |
72.8 |
| 30 |
Tackles |
32 |
| 46.7 |
Tackles Success |
81.2 |
| 57.3 |
Possession |
42.7 |
| 56.1 |
Territorial Advantage |
43.9 |
|
