Wenger had handed Craig Eastmond a debut Champions League outing knowing that if Braga failed to win and his side drew against a team routed 5-1 in the reverse fixture Arsenal would be virtually guaranteed qualification for the knockout stages.
Eastmond, a 19-year-old holding midfielder, lined up alongside Jack Wilshere in Wenger's now-familiar 4-2-3-1 system, with Nicklas Bendtner making his fifth appearance of a so far injury-stunted season. Left behind from the Arsenal team that scrambled a 1-0 win over West Ham at the weekend had been Cesc Fábregas, Denilson, Alex Song and Andrey Arshavin but Wenger was keen to assert just before kick-off that he still expected victory.
"I have picked the best possible team to win the game tonight. It will be a very competitive game and we are up for it. We want to do well and I'm confident we will," the Frenchman said.
Yet by the close of the first half his side had problems despite opening the scoring from one of their classic counter-attacks. Following a Donetsk corner Wilshere, who appears to improve with every game of his nascent career, unloaded a weighted pass that set Theo Walcott off. Wenger had also said before this match that his jet-heeled winger is nearing the moment when he can step into the main striker's role and emulate Thierry Henry as the club's goal-scoring machine.
Now came proof from Walcott. And it was the position frequently exploited, cutting in from the left. Walcott's first touch left the chasing Olexiy Gai a virtual statue and had the 21-year-old racing towards Andriy Pyatov. The second was a cool pass beyond the goalkeeper for the type of finish Henry patented during his eight years at Arsenal.
Yet from this moment the visitors lost control as Shakhtar created a series of chances before and after their equaliser, which came courtesy of Jadson. The Brazilian hit the post with a header before seconds later forcing Lukasz Fabianski into a sharp save and he also had a shot blocked by Johan Djourou. The noise in the Donbass Arena had been constant and on 28 minutes this rose to a delirious roar.
Emmanuel Eboué, playing at right-back for the rested Bacary Sagna, was again beaten by Jadson for pace. This time he fouled the attacker and was booked. Jadson curved the free-kick in from the left and Eastmond finished beyond Fabianski for an own goal, with Dmytro Chygrynskiy pressuring the young midfielder.
Behind Fabianski's goal Shakhtar's support had stripped to the waist despite the chilling temperature and they would head into half-time warmed by their team's second. Wenger would have felt the opposite and no doubt gave a rollicking to Gaël Clichy, after he allowed himself to be mugged by Srna. The left-back should have been in control near his touchline but had the ball stolen before Srna motored towards goal and played in Eduardo da Silva. After making no mistake with the finish Arsenal's former striker refused any ostentatious celebration, just as he had done at the Emirates last month.
Walcott had the chance to score a second five minutes earlier but the ball was taken from his toes. His team, though, deserved to be trailing. Wenger's frustrations continued in the second half began as his team again were overrun by Shakhtar. Willian was too easily escaping the Arsenal defence to get in behind, and one run-and-pull-back into the area deserved a finish from a colleague. Wilshere, too, might have done better when offered a sight of Pyatov's goal moments before, but the 18-year-old pulled his shot wide.
Wenger had seen enough. He pulled off the unfortunate Eastmond for Carlos Vela, with Samir Nasri dropping in alongside Wilshere and this was now a test of not only the depth of Wenger's resources but the ability of his players to pull a match from the fire in a hostile environment.
Yet while they continued their patient football there were too many loose passes and not enough attention paid when defending – Luiz Adriano nearly claimed the third in a scramble to the ball that Fabianski only just won, and the excellent Srna later drove a free-kick at Fabianski.
Any hope of an Arsenal equaliser appeared to rest with Walcott who, whether skipping down the right to slice open the home rearguard or when unloading a shot, was a menace. "This is a very tough place to come to. Their home record is very good," Walcott said before looking forward to a swift return to form on Sunday. "We have to be confident about bouncing back to face Newcastle."
Source: Jamie Jackson, The Guardian on 3 Nov 10
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