AZ Alkmaar 1 Arsenal 1 Champions League 20th October

AZ Alkmaar 0 Arsenal 1 Champions League 20/10/2009

Arsenal threw away a one goal lead 3 minutes into stoppage time against Dutch team AZ Alkmaar with a great hit from Mendes Da Silva.

The Gunners had a great early start to their away Champions League fixture with a well worked team goal finished by Cesc Fabregas in the 36th minute.. AZ Alkmaar were caught in possession by Arshavin but then the Gunners punished the home team superbly with a well timed Van Persie cross to captain Fabregas who made no mistake.

In the second half AZ Alkmaar gradually came into the match with a couple of subsitutions adding a bit more pace to their game. They still lacked the potency needed to penetrate Arsenal but gave the Gooners a few problems on the edge of the 18 yard box with one great chance to bring it back to 1-1 which came to nothing.

Arshavin and Van Persie both looked great but this was a professional performance from Wenger's men. AZ Alkmaar played the match quite physically, probably due to being frustrated by Arsenal's ability to smoothly retain possession.

Just when the game looked wrapped up AZ Alkmaar applied some late pressure, the ball fell nicely for a volley just inside the box for Da Silva who hit the back of Almunia's net with some venom, the home team grinding out a great Champions League result

A bitter pill for Wenger's boys after bossing most of this Champions League tie.