Bergkamp gives Arsenal edge

Bergkamp found the perfect finish for the only goal

Arsenal 1-0 Lens

Arsenal took a step closer to the Uefa Cup final, as Dennis Bergkamp's early goal gave them a slender lead after the first leg of their semi-final at Highbury.

Bergkamp put the Gunners ahead after just two minutes - but the rest of the game proved a frustrating affair for Arsene Wenger's side and unfancied Lens did enough to keep the tie in the balance.

We became insecure because they closed us down. They played at a high level and we had nothing more to give and lacked presence in the box.

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger

Arsenal were expected to find life relatively easy against the team rated as the weakest of the four semi-finalists.

And when Bergkamp found the net right at the start of the game and Nwankwo Kanu was presented with two gilt-edged chances soon after, it looked like being a stroll for the north Londoners.

But Lens proved they are more than mere makeweights in this year's competition and will fancy their chances of causing an upset in the return leg in two weeks.

Dennis' dazzler

Bergkamp gave the Gunners a flying start with a typically stylish goal - but he still owed a huge debt of thanks to Lens keeper Guillaume Warmuz.

Arsenal were unable to impose themselves on midfield

When Emmanuel Petit sent a long ball over the top to Bergkamp, Warmuz came haring out of his area - and the Dutch maestro was able to slip the ball past him and two despairing defenders before lashing the ball home from a tight angle.

Kanu should have put Arsenal 2-0 up when he found himself unmarked from Silvinho's superb ninth-minute cross, but Warmuz was able to scramble his header off the line.

The Nigerian frontman was presented with another great headed chance eight minutes later - but again he sent his effort straight at the Lens keeper.

But after their wobbly start the French side gradually began to find their feet.

Phillipe Brunel had two half-chances for Lens towards the interval, but sent both efforts over the bar.

Second-half stalemate

Both teams struggled to get a grip on proceedings in the second half as the game became an increasingly disjointed affair.

Bergkamp goes down under Quedrue's challenge

There was very little in the way of goalmouth action, with Lens able to successfully stifle the home side.

But Marc Overmars did have a glorious chance to make it 2-0 after 69 minutes.

Ray Parlour made a break down the right and sent a superb low cross into the six-yard box, but the ball ballooned off Overmars' knee and flew over the bar.

And within a minute Lens had their only genuine goalscoring opening of the night.

Arsenal's defence was cut to shreds by a flowing, one-touch move and Pascal Nouma was left with just David Seaman to beat - but he blasted his first-time shot against the top of the bar.

Davor Suker was thrown on by Arsenal in the closing stages as they looked for a vital second goal - and he so nearly claimed one six minutes from time.

Fellow substitute Frederick Ljungberg played Suker into the box and the Croat striker hit a snapshot towards the bottom corner of the net - but somehow Warmuz produced a stunning one-handed save to make amends for his mistake 82 minutes earlier.

Teams:

Arsenal: Seaman, Dixon, Silvinho, Grimandi, Keown, Vieira, Overmars, Parlour, Petit, Kanu, Bergkamp.
Subs: Winterburn, Ljungberg, Suker, Manninger, Malz, Luzhny, Black.

Lens: Warmuz, Sikora, Coly, Mawene, Queudrue, Moreira, Blanchard, Nyarko, Brunel, Coridon, Nouma.
Subs: Rodriguez, Job, Barul, Sakho, Meride, Delporte, Berthelin.

Referee: G Benko (Austria)