Panathinaikos 2 Arsenal 2
Arsenal are not learning from their mistakes in Europe. Carelessness cost them against Rosenborg in Trondheim three weeks ago and it was a similar story last night.
Twice Arsenal led and both times they let Panathinaikos back, the second time inside the last 10 minutes. They can have no complaints after this uninspired display.
Jens Lehmann will not look back on this game with affection. Panathinaikos's first equaliser came from a lob after he had rushed off his line to try to head clear. Then he tried and failed to claim the corner from which Emmanuel Olisadebe headed in.
Arsenal might have won at the end when Jose Antonio Reyes and Robert Pires had shots saved in quick succession but urgency of that order was too often missing. It appeared only at the end and to produce the move from which Thierry Henry put them 2-1 up, tucking away Ashley Cole's cross.
That goal, and Freddie Ljungberg's opener, were Arsenal's only two clear chances until near the finish. The verve and accuracy of pass they show in the Premiership was missing and they will need to rediscover it for Sunday's trip to Manchester United.
Arsenal's previous visit to this stadium had ended in a 1-0 defeat three years ago and the atmosphere that night had been highly charged. Arsene Wenger had seen this as a guide of how far his team have come in Europe over the intervening years.
Wenger must have been intrigued to see how his midfield partnership of Edu and Cesc Fabregas would cope. Their only previous start together had been against Rotherham in last season's League Cup. The pair were not allowed to settle into a rhythm as Panathinaikos made an aggressive start.
Inside the opening five minutes Panathinaikos caused concern. First Angelos Basinas shot wide with the first of several efforts he was to have. Then it needed a good piece of defending by Sol Campbell to prevent a cross from reaching Ezequiel Gonzalez at the near post.
Wenger's players struggled to create much with a redesigned team that featured Reyes on the left and Pires up front alongside Thierry Henry. But they took the lead from their first and only chance of the first half.
Reyes was faced by two defenders near the edge of the box but his quick feet enabled him to find space to clip a fine ball with the outside of his left foot to Freddie Ljungberg, whose finish matched the pass, dinking the ball over the goalkeeper.
For a while much of the belief seemed to drain from the home team. Arsenal began to find it easier to hold possession and Panathinaikos looked less threatening than in the opening minutes, even if Jens Lehmann was glad to see Gonzalez head wide.
Yet Arsenal failed to capitalise on their positive start, as at Rosenborg where they ended up drawing. The fizz went from their play for most of the rest of the first half. Pires was having little impact up front, Henry struggled to get involved and the team conceded ground too easily, allowing Panathinaikos forward. A header by Sotirios Kirgiakos was not far wide from a free-kick.
Fabregas began to come into the game as the half wore on but a worry was the rough treatment dished out to Reyes.
Arsenal spent the early minutes after the interval in their own half, with too many inaccurate passes stifling their attempts to find their usual flow.
Briefly, Arsenal looked more threatening on the break but promising openings came to nothing, with Pires unable to deliver a decisive cross, and a shot wide at the other end by Dumitru Mitu was a warning to Arsenal they could not take victory for granted.
Sure enough, an equaliser came. Lehmann came out to head a ball that was being chased by the substitute Emmanuel Olisadebe, rather than let Sol Campbell nod it back to him. His header did not make contact and Gonzalez produced an excellent lob from near the touchline to beat the goalkeeper.
PANATHINAIKOS:Chalkias, Morris, Goumas, Gonzalez (Sapanis 90), Kirgiakos, Konstantinou (Olisadebe 64), Basinas, Mitu (Epalle 76), Vyntra, Skacel, Konstantinidis. Subs Not Used: Galinovic, Henriksen, Kotsolis, Maric. Booked: Goumas, Skacel, Vyntra. Goals: Gonzalez 65, Olisadebe 81.
ARSENAL:Lehmann, Lauren, Toure, Campbell, Cole, Ljungberg, Edu, Fabregas, Pires, Reyes, Henry. Subs Not Used: Taylor, Van Persie, Flamini, Cygan, Senderos, Pennant, Larsson. Goals: Ljungberg 17, Henry 74.
Referee:Valentin Ivanov (Russia).