Arsenal 3 - Juventus 1
Tuesday 4th December 2001
Fredrik Ljungberg lifted his second goal of the game over Gianluigi Buffon with four minutes remaining to settle this Champions' League clash in Arsenal's favour.
The Swede collected a Dennis Bergkamp pass to lob in following a counter-attack started inadvertantly by the referee, who got in the way as Juventus pressed for a late leveller.
Ljungberg had put his side ahead and Thierry Henry bent home No 2, before a a messy own goal gave the Italians hope.
A fumble by �33 million goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon gave Arsenal the lead against the run of play at Highbury.
Ljungberg followed in to score when the Italy No 1 made a mess of Patrick Vieira's shot and it was nearly 2-0 moments later as Ray Parlour's long-ranger gave Buffon the chance to show his true form.
Arsenal did not have long to wait, though, as Robert Pires was cut down by Gianluca Zambrotta and Henry bent the resulting free-kick into the corner from 22 yards.
Home goalkeeper Stuart Taylor had earlier kept his side in the game with saves from Alessandro Del Piero and Pavel Nedved.
Del Piero cut in from the left past Lauren and curled a shot towards the far corner which Taylor pushed round the post. When the corner was swung in, Taylor again had to save, this time from a David Trezeguet header.
Arsenal finally found their rhythm on 13 minutes and, when a clever Pires lay-off played in Ashley Cole, the young left-back thumped a sweet half-volley into Buffon's midriff.
Back came Juve and Del Piero drew the defence before finding Nedved, whose shot was blocked by Taylor. The ball looped up, but Trezeguet put his header on to the roof of the net.
Ljungberg and Henry stunned the Turin side with their goals moments later and the Swede should have made it 3-0 when Kanu stabbed a pass through to him, Buffon saving well from six yards.
The Highbury crowd feared the worst on 32 minutes after Nedved raced clear and Matthew Upson brought the Czech down with a poorly-timed tackle but, instead of pointing to the spot, referee Manuel Melo Pereira booked Nedved for a dive.
Del Piero continued to offer the greatest threat for the visitors and he raced past Parlour down the right on 44 minutes. Zambrotta looked poised to fire home when the centre arrived, but Cole got across well to whip the ball clear.
Juventus were back in it at the start of the second half, though, as Taylor saved well from Zambrotta and Trezeguet, only for the ball to ricochet off Campbell and back into the net via the young goalkeeper for the most unfortunate of OGs.
The jitters of the opening exchanges returned to the Arsenal defence for a prolonged period as Juve probed for a leveller.
But Taylor maintained his composure with some sound handling and, by the time Bergkamp replaced Kanu on 69 minutes, possession was being shared equally again.
The Dutch forward was instrumental straight away, collecting an Henry flick and volleying straight at Buffon, while Parlour lashed an effort from the edge of the area just past the post.
Arsenal: Taylor, Lauren, Campbell, Upson, Cole, Ljungberg, Parlour, Vieira, Pires, Henry (Grimandi 85), Kanu (Bergkamp 69)
Juventus: Buffon, Birindelli, Thuram, Montero, Pessotto (Paramatti 77), Zambrotta, Tudor (Davids 25), Tacchinardi, Nedved (Amoroso 71), Del Piero, Trezeguet
Booked: Nedved, Birindelli, Davids (Juve)
Referee: Manuel Melo Pereira
