At the Estadio Municipal de Braga in Portugal, a defensive-minded Braga, with only 36 percent ball possession, denied Arsenal a chance for qualification in the knockout stages. A draw was all the Gunners needed to move on.
Prior to this match, Arsenal were the highest goal scorers in the Champions League with 15, six of which came in a 6–0 victory over Braga earlier in the competition. And with Braga losing their last two on the trot domestically, Arsenal could have been expected to at least see out a draw.
The first half saw much of the possession go to the Gunners, who carved out four shooting opportunities.
In the 27th minute, Theo Walcott was in free space down the wing, hitting a low shot only to find no Gunner ahead to finish it off.
In the 29th minute, Walcott was thick in the action again, making a great run as the ball was nicely put through to him. However, he was denied when goalkeeper Felipe came out and made the save.
The 36th minute saw a Cesc Fabregas free kick go over the bar, barely troubling Braga keeper Felipe. Fabregas wound up leaving the game with a hamstring injury and should miss this weekend’s Premier League action.
Braga, who saw little of the ball, only had their first real half-chance when Lima found some space and shot from 25 yards out, only to shave Lukasz Fabianski’s right hand post.
Wenger Makes Changes
The second half carried on in the same vein, with Arsenal dominating possession. Braga continued to play defensively, however, the Gunners failed to look overly dangerous in front of goal.
Twenty minutes from time and Wenger made his first two substitutions, swapping Fabregas for Samir Nasri and Nicklas Bendtner for Marouane Chamakh. Eight minutes later, Walcott came off for Vela.
The changes saw Vela immediately into the action, picking up a loose ball in the penalty box, but he was taken down by Braga defender Alberto Rodriguez in what looked like a clear-cut penalty. Referee Viktor Kassai denied the appeals for a penalty and instead booked Vela for diving.
For the first time in the match, Arsenal started to take charge and a goal seemed imminent for the Gunners. However, against the run of play in the 82nd minute, a Braga counter-attack with a through ball played from deep in their half found Matheus free, one-on-one with keeper Fabianski, and he clinically fired the ball into the net.
Arsenal continued to push for an equalizer, but it was Braga scoring again as Denilson lost the ball on the halfway mark and Matheus made the Gunners pay, weaving through the defense and accurately placing a shot in the top corner past Fabianski.
The Gunners, in a match with as much as 64 per cent of ball possession, were downed with yet more defensive errors.
Arsenal now find themselves in second place in Group H, three points behind Shakhtar Donetsk who beat Partizan Belgrade 3–0.
Arsenal will need to win their last group stage match against Partizan Belgrade in London on Dec. 8 to guarantee qualification for the knockout stages.
