Cautious Wenger fails to rule the roost in Ukraine

Although it would be harsh to say Arsene Wenger chickened out in Kiev last night, his protests at the final whistle neatly diverted attention away from his own tactical misjudgement.

It would be unfair to label this a defensive display but the deployment of a second holding midfielder indicated the Gunners boss was eager not to underestimate his opponents and that he considered a draw an acceptable result.

After all, isn't this the sort of contest Arsenal are said to fear most? A long trip (OK, not north but 1,330 miles east in this case) where a combination of colder conditions and a physical approach can cause the breakdown of the Gunners' slick football as it had in previous years at places like Bolton and Blackburn.

But whereas they took one step forward in disproving that theory by dismantling Rovers last weekend, concerns will resurface over their ability to handle these kind of encounters after a lacklustre display salvaged by a late scrambled goal from captain William Gallas.

That came only after Wenger abandoned his tactical caution and threw on Nicklas Bendtner, Carlos Vela and Emmanuel Eboue to chase a game Arsenal could have had won by half-time.

"It was a risk, but I felt I did not have much choice," said Wenger. "At that stage, we were a bit on the verge of being close to conceding a second goal because we were much more open.

"We played with two midfielders, one offensive, and four strikers, so we were a bit open at the back and a bit on the verge of getting a knock-out."

It must be said, conditions were testing but not as much as they could have been. Kolo Toure was the only Arsenal starting player last night who also played when the Gunners lost in Kiev five years ago.

But, this time, the atmosphere was considerably less intimidating in the Valeri Lobanovskiy Stadium, where the hosts are playing their home games while the Olympic Stadium is renovated for Euro 2012 in Poland and Ukraine.

Ukraine has the second largest military in Europe (behind Russia) and it appeared most of it was stationed in the ground last night, where only around 300 Gunners fans had braved the long trip from London.

There were swathes of empty seats at kick-off and reports of home fans being crushed as they went through a complicated ticket check outside the stadium.

But a sell-out of around 17,000 is just a fraction of the capacity Kiev would have enjoyed in previous years at the other venue.

Robin Van Persie lined up on the left of a five-man midfield with Emmanuel Adebayor on his own in attack. Alex Song and Denilson were given instructions to sit in front of the back four and break up play, giving Theo Walcott, Cesc Fabregas and Van Persie licence to join the Togo forward.

While Dynamo huffed and puffed with Ismael Bangoura looking lively but rushed in front of goal, Van Persie, Adebayor and Fabregas all missed good chances to put the game out of sight.

Having struck the post after half-time, Kiev put Arsenal on the back foot and a mis-judgement from Gallas gave the hosts the ball. Bangoura crossed from the right and Bacary Sagna was adjudged to have bundled over Ognjen Vukojevic. Guinea forward Bangoura stroked the penalty past Manuel Almunia with ease, waiting for the Spaniard to dive before placing the ball in the opposite right-hand corner.

The old fears returned — when Arsenal need to change a game, the bench is still packed with potential rather than potency. Aside from Bendtner — and his pedigree remains doubted by many at the Emirates — Eboue is no matchwinner and Vela is promising but cannot be relied upon to change games of such magnitude so early in his career.

But Arsenal responded through Gallas, a sign that defender Kolo Toure insists underlines Arsenal's new found resolve.

He said: "It is a really good point because it is always difficult to come away from home and play against this team. It is very cold and they have a week to prepare waiting for us, but we showed that we are strong this season."

Wenger, too, was appreciative that his captain had atoned for his earlier error by coming to his side's rescue.

"I believe he is highly committed and always responds well," said the Frenchman. "It was not an easy game for us. Once you are 1-0 down and the other team is defending so well, you need special character and he is one of the players who have shown that."

But Wenger's penchance for tactical defensiveness does not sit well with Arsenal's attacking style and desire to entertain. Consequently, the players seem to lose a touch of direction.

Historically, this most famously manifested itself when Arsenal were 2-0 up with 20 minutes to go at Bolton in April 2003 and Wenger brought on an extra defender in Oleg Luzhny to replace winger Freddie Ljungberg.

Bolton scored twice to equalise and was a massive factor in Manchester United overhauling the Gunners to claim the Premier League title that season.

Gallas rescued his boss tonight but their dismal record in the old Soviet bloc, which now reads five defeats and two draws, indicates they don't get the approach right against technically inferior teams from this region.

Wenger hit out at the end of the match accusing Kiev of trying to destroy' Theo Walcott with savage tackling but, as he reflects on a somewhat fortunate point given the circumstances, in a way he may feel like a chicken tonight.