London: A late, late show rescued Arsenal from the jaws of defeat as they recorded a 2-1 victory in an absorbing game against Barcelona in the first leg of their Champions League encounter.
David Villa's first-half goal looked to have settled matters after Wojciech Szczesny made a series of impressive saves to hold the visitors at bay.
Yet an equaliser from a lashed volley from an almost impossible angle from Robin Van Persie and a coolly slotted Andrei Arshavin finish saw the hosts snatch the first-leg advantage when it seemed most unlikely.
Arsenal will remain wary that a 1-0 victory for their opponents at the Nou Camp will be enough to sway the tie their way, but will be buoyed by the heroic manner of the comeback against the widely fancied Catalan club.
Not content to sit back and be overawed by their Catalan opponents Arsenal adopted the tactical outlook usually associated with Barcelona. Some effective pressure high up the pitch saw the hosts immediately take the game to their visitors.
Some nifty footwork on the edge of the box saw the lively Theo Walcott drop the ball off to Cesc Fabregas. The ex-Barcelona man’s scooped pass fell into the path of Robin Van Persie, but the on-form Dutchman could only fire his left foot volley into the body of Victor Valdes, who reacted well to parry the ball away to safety.
It was only a matter of time before Barcelona crafted a chance and when a smart one-two between Lionel Messi and David Villa saw the Argentine through on goal, the sense of trepidation at the Emirates was tangible.
As Messi bore down on Wojciech Szczesny, he attempted a familiar teased dink over the keeper, reminiscent of a finish he produced against the Gunners last time round, but saw his finish trickle fractions of an inch wide of the post.
Walcott was at the centre of all of Arsenal's attacking endeavour, even when deep inside his own half. The spritely winger burst forward on the counter-attack and caressed a fantastic through ball into the path of Fabregas. The Spaniard then took Valdes out of the game with a cross into the danger area and with Van Persie poised and the goal gaping, Eric Abidal was well enough positioned to clear the danger with his head.
As suspected, Barcelona were quick to punish any complacency displayed by the hosts. Amid desperate calls for offside, Villa latched onto Messi's poked pass, breached Arsenal's back four and slotted the ball, with the clinical technique of a man on form, underneath Szczesny.
Showing ruthlessness in pursuit of victory and away goals, Barcelona almost doubled their lead moments later. With Arsenal visibly rocked, Villa dallied on the ball, before finding space and crossing from inside the right box. Pedro attempted a clever backheeled finish but was impressively blocked from close range by Szczesny.
With the game see-sawing Arsenal very nearly put themselves right back in the contest. Some clever play from Jack Wilshere found Van Persie in acres of space in the box, yet on his favoured left foot the striker opted for power rather than precision and lashed the ball both high and wide when he should have done better.
Szczesny grew in stature as the game developed and was again at hand to thwart the creative Barcelona front line. When Villa and Messi combined again to release the former through on goal, the young Polish keeper stood up tall and blocked Villa's effort. Messi nodded in the rebound but was correctly adjudged to have been in an offside position.
The second half immediately saw the resumption of the end-to-end, ding-dong battle that enveloped the first. Despite decent possession, Arsenal consistently struggled to provide the final pass that would prise open the Barcelona defence. And with the visitors always looking threatening on the break, the game was poised on a knife-edge.
When Pedro sprung the offside trap, a rather dubious challenge from Laurent Koscielny, which saw him bundle the winger over as he waited for the ball to drop as he desired, was waved away by the referee.
As the ball fell to Fabregas on the edge of the box, a snapshot seemed the most likely outcome. However, he laid the ball out to Samir Nasri on the left, who sent in an inviting ball along the floor into the six yard area. With Van Persie sliding in with Gerard Pique, the centre half just about managed to edge himself in front and poke the ball out for a corner which amounted to nothing.
Tiredness soon set in and the game lulled, with clear-cut chances being few and far between. Arsene Wenger brought on Andrei Arshavin in place of Alex Song to try and induce some impetus and when Niklas Bendtner came on for Walcott, it became evident that Arsenal did not want to enter the second leg with a 1-0 deficit.
It took little time for the changes to take effect as Arsenal suddenly thrust themselves back into the game. A deep, curled pass from Gael Cliche sought out Van Persie on the far left side of the Barcelona box. As the forward brought it down, a ball into the box seemed evident, yet Van Persie proceeded to rifle the ball in between Valdes and the near post in the blink of an eye to level proceedings.
The tide quickly changed as Arsenal performed a rapid fire answer to their equaliser. A raking Fabregas pass found Nasri with an abundance of space down the left. With support slow to catch up, Nasri kept his cool, waited for Arshavin to ghost in off the right wing and slotted a ball into the Russian's path who calmly slotted the ball past Valdes.
Barcelona were unable to register a reply to the host's staggering comeback and were on the receiving end of a famous Arsenal victory. The North London outfit will be proud of the manner of their victory, but face the return leg at the Nou Camp in the knowledge that conceding a solitary goal may be enough to halt their progress in the competition.
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