Lyon late show stuns Arsenal

Bergkamp celebrates his opener for Arsenal

Arsenal 1-1 Lyon

A last-gasp equaliser by Brazilian defender Edmilson earned Lyon a point as Arsenal missed the chance to put one foot in the Champions League quarter-finals.

Dennis Bergkamp scored an excellent goal midway through the first half but it was not enough as the French side dug deep to take a deserved point.

Arsenal dominated the first half and should really have had more to show for their efforts.

Ashley Cole comes away with the ball

But the Lyon players never let their heads drop and refused to accept defeat, with Edmilson scoring the equaliser in the last minute of normal time.

Arsenal went into the match without inspirational skipper Tony Adams, whose back had seized up, but Dennis Bergkamp was given his second start in the Champions League this season.

Arsene Wenger's decision to select the Dutchman ahead of Nigerian international star Kanu will no doubt fuel the speculation surrounding his future at the club.

Bergkamp sublime

Sonny Anderson had the first effort of the match, putting his free kick just wide of David Seaman's left-hand post.

Arsenal soon settled into their own pattern of play and Robert Pires was unlucky not to get on the scoresheet after a defensive error by Eric Deflandre. But Pires blazed his shot over the crossbar.

  Key moments

1 min: Anderson freekick flies just wide of Arsenal goal

9 mins: Pires blazes shot over Lyon crossbar

13 mins: Parlour shot grazes outside of post

32 mins: Bergkamp makes it 1-0 from Pires' pass

46 mins: Grimandi penalty appeal turned down

68 mins: Anderson shot blocked by Luzhny

84 mins: Lauren header cleared off line

89 mins: Edmilson scores equaliser

Ray Parlour was then denied by the outside of a post after he latched on to a Bergkamp header in the box.

The Gunners upped the tempo, sensing that a breakthrough was in sight.

Wenger was certainly justified in his selection of Bergkamp, who got sharper as the first half progressed.

He put Henry through on goal only for the French striker to be judged marginally offside.

We had the chances to finish the game off but didn't take them

  Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger

Henry did put the ball in the back of the net after 28 minutes but the goal was disallowed - again for offside.

Bergkamp's endeavour eventually paid off - rather controversially - in the 32nd minute when he was put through by Pires.

After some jostling with Edmilson, which saw the Brazilian defender tumble to the ground, the Dutchman produced a sublime piece of finishing to put Arsenal 1-0 up.

Lyon's only other proper attempt on goal came from Edmilson, who blazed his long-range free-kick over the crossbar.

Sustained effort

The home team started the second half in much the same style as the first and were unlucky to have a penalty appeal denied when Gilles Grimandi's goal-bound shot appeared to be handled by a Lyon defender.

But Grimandi's appeal was turned down by the Slovakian referee who awarded Arsenal a corner instead.

There was an intriguing battle in midfield between Patrick Vieira and Marc-Vivien Foe which ended with the former West Ham player being booked for bringing down the Arsenal midfield engine in full flow.

Muller launches himself at Bergkamp

The introduction of Dhorasoo gave Lyon a much-needed lift and he linked well with Anderson in the 68th minute only for the Brazilian striker's shot to be blocked by Oleg Luzhny.

Lyon stepped up the pressure and Arsenal were hanging on towards the end.

Kanu was brought on to help retain possession, but it was another Arsenal substitute, Lauren, who nearly put the tie beyond the French.

His header was cleared off the line, which seemed to keep alive Lyon's belief that they could salvage something from the match.

And it was Edmilson - who felt he had been fouled in the build up to the Gunners' goal - who popped up to steer his header into the Arsenal net with barely seconds remaining.

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Arsenal: Seaman, Dixon, Grimandi, Luzhny, Cole, Ljungberg, Vieira, Parlour, Pires, Henry, Bergkamp. Subs: Manninger, Wiltord, Lauren, Malz, Upson, Vivas, Kanu.

Lyon: Coupet, Deflandre, Edmilson, Muller, Brechet, Govou, Foe, Violeau, Laigle, Anderson, Marlet. Subs: Hugues, Dhorasoo, Loko, Delmotte, Malbranque, Linares, Cacapa.

Referee: Lubos Michel (Slovakia)