This was Arsenal's first victory in their new stadium but it wasn't convincing. Such was the size of the lead that Wenger decided to leave Henry and Gilberto out, allowing Flamini and van Persie a chance to shine in the starting line up. The performance wasn't good, but the late goals saved any blushes.
Surely Arsene Wenger had urged his players to guard against complacency? Surely they would come firing out of the blocks as if the game was 0-0? A cliche I know but that can be the only way to approach a tie like this.
After 11 minutes Eduardo started and finished an impressive move, albeit with a touch of clumsy defending to help it along. He broke down the left and found Etto just inside the penalty area. As Etto cut the ball back across the area Toure lunged and missed, allowing it to run freely to Eduardo who struck a left foot shot in the far corner. The Zagreb fans errupted into a glorious celebration that lasted until the final whistle. They surely enjoyed their evening and probably a little more than most Arsenal fans did.
Suddenly Arsenal were a goal behind again and an impatient crowd began biting their nails. Van Persie had a chance cleared off the line and up on to the bar after Toure nodded down a Fabregas freekick. The Dutchman also had a shot at the near post saved after some clever footwork on the byline, whilst Adebayor and Ljungberg both went close. The chances came but not the finish and the Zagreb goal remained unbreached.
In the 53rd minute Adebayor shot wildly over the bar from 12 yards, when he should have finished and minutes later Wenger bought on Henry and then Gilberto in an attempt to make the score more respectable.
Eboue was fouled on one of his lung busting runs down the right wing and van Persie drifted over a freekick to find Ljungberg on the far post. He netted with a deft header to calm the nerves of the Arsenal faithful.
Walcott then replaced van Persie in a stiker's role and showed a positive attacking attitude, even getting booked for shooting when clean through with the flag raised for off-side. In the final attack of the game Walcott found an unmarked Flamini with a low cross and the game was won with the last kick of the game.
Good Stuff: Another impressive cameo from the young Walcott, who now has two assists in two games.
Bad Stuff: Sometimes the continual building around the edge of the penalty area gets monotonous. Especially if 10 or 15 passes doesn't result with a credible shot on target.
Noticeable: The most passionate and vocal away support I have seen in a long time. Credit to them...
Star Man: Some touches of brilliance scattered througout the game but no-one really stood head and shoulders above the rest.
| Arsenal | Stat | Dinamo Zagreb |
| 3 | Shots on Target | 3 |
| 9 | Shots off target | 5 |
| 9 | Corners | 2 |
| 1 | Offsides | 4 |
| 15 | Fouls | 25 |
| 3 | Yellow Cards | 3 |
| 0 | Red Cards | 0 |
| 45% | Possession | 55% |
Arsenal (4-4-2): Almunia, Eboue, Toure, Djourou, Hoyte, Hleb, Flamini, Fabregas, Ljungberg (Gilberto 70), van Persie (Walcott 80), Adebayor (Henry 65). Unused subs: Poom, Cygan, Song, Aliadiere.
Dinamo Zagreb (4-4-2): de Jesus, Turina, Corluka, Cvitanovic, Modric, da Silva, Agic (Bujat 70), Drpic, Etto (Tomnic 90), Mamic, Vugrinec. Unused subs: Loncaric, Pandev, Costa, Ljubojevic.
Attendance: 58,418
