Arsenal got their Champions League campaign back on track with a 3-2 victory over Schalke in a dramatic encounter at Highbury this evening. Freddie Ljundberg opened the scoring for the Gunners in the 32nd minute when he raced through the Schalke midfield, but even though he slipped as he shot, his tame effort took a deflection off Schalke captain Tomasz Waldoch and trickled past a wrong-footed Reck.
Thierry Henry doubled the lead with a brilliant turn and finish from the edge of the box three minutes later, but the visitors clawed themselves back into a turbulent game just before the break. Sylvain Wiltord gifted Andreas Moller possession on the edge of the box, and the midfielder's cross was volleyed home by the in-rushing Marco van Hoogdalem.
However, the second half was just two minutes old when Patrick Vieira was adjudged to have been taken down by the unfortunate Reck, who seemed to play the ball. Henry calmly slotted the ball home to restore Arsenal's two-goal cushion, but Belgian striker Emile Mpenza replied for Schalke in the 59th minute with a superb glancing header from Tomasz Hajto's inswinger to set up a frantic final third.
Both sides had opportunities to score thereafter, but Arsene Wenger's men held on to secure their first win in this season's competition. Elsewhere, Liverpool earned a point away to Germany's Borussia Dortmund in a lack-lustre game at the Westfalenstadion, scene of last year's epic UEFA Cup final win over Alaves.
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Filed by Shane Murray
