Arsenal 0 AC Milan 0:Progress can be a harsh business and Arsenal sacrificed some of their streamlined approach to make this Champions League tie an abrasive affair for holders denied their normal poise.
The strategy might have had the perfect outcome, but at the very end of stoppage-time Emmanuel Adebayor's header from a cross by the substitute Theo Walcott clipped the bar.
That was exasperating, but Arsene Wenger's side, with the benefit of a clean sheet here, will believe they can advance at San Siro.
Milan have so many august footballers it can feel as if they have come to grade the opposition as much as to compete with them. There is a particular sense a relatively new Arsenal line-up is also taking measure of itself and there was a need to adjust to a different sort of visitor, one who expected to have a healthy share of possession.
There were graceful episodes, but the first half was also hard-fought. In the midst of that struggle Arsenal were compelled to adjust after Kolo Toure went off after seven minutes, following a knee injury sustained when he seemed to twist while blocking a drive from Pato. Philippe Senderos took over and therefore had the chance to scrutinise a teenager from whom so much is already anticipated.
For Milan, the acquisition of Pato in January brought a jubilation that reflected far more than a satisfaction at winning out over many of the world's prestigious clubs, including Arsenal. The 18-year-old Brazilian is the living embodiment of hopes that there can be another golden era before long for this great Italian institution.
Pato provokes so complete a faith that it makes even the coach Carlo Ancelotti giddy. When the signing of the forward was completed, he joked with journalists they ought to buy him immediately for their fantasy football sides. Pato is also supposed to make dreams come true in the grimy old world of reality and, here, Milan gave him his Champions League debut.
Arsenal did all they could to make Pato and the others understand they were on hostile territory. The youngster inserted his name into the chronicle of this fixture when he was cautioned for a shove on Bacary Sagna in the 33rd minute. He had entered into the spirit of a fairly robust game in which Adebayor was always ready to flex his muscles while sublimating the more delicate aspect of his talents.
After Jens Lehmann had saved a Paolo Maldini header in the sixth minute, the goalkeeper hurled the ball 60 yards down the right and the thundering Adebayor was only checked by a sliding tackle from Massimo Oddo inside the area. The pressure from Arsenal climbed and, as the interval approached, the 39-year- old Maldini would have been impatient to sit down in the dressingroom.
Milan had been patchy, with Andrea Pirlo hustled into giving the ball away by Alexander Hleb. For all that, Arsenal employed Adebayor as their sole striker and there was no true onslaught at that stage. The most cogent move involved inter-passing between Mathieu Flamini and Emmanuel Eboue before the former shot straight at Zeljko Kalac.
Arsenal, uncharacteristically, were more often hustlers and the tie had its attritional aspect. The contest was certainly hard on Milan, who lost Alessandro Nesta to injury. Here was the answer to the question of where Arsenal's fight had gone in the 4-0 trouncing by Manchester United in the FA Cup. It was being held in reserve for this greater occasion.
With the visitors down to 10 men before Marek Jankulovski could replace Nesta, a corner kick deflected from Kakha Kaladze to go narrowly past his own posts. Milan had to improvise and call on know-how, with Maldini shifting to the heart of the defence. Ancelotti's side, all the same, were seldom allowed to recuperate by calming the match down.
The tempo was unrelenting.
While this is an ageing Milan line-up, it is not uniformly decrepit and sometimes the weariness can be that of footballers with little left to prove. Clarence Seedorf, for instance, is a mere 31, but the first of his Champions League medals for three different clubs was won with Ajax in 1995.
There is always a challenge for him and others to replenish their ambition.
They normally do so and a Milan midfield led by the excellent Massimo Ambrosini found it in themselves to respond to the vigour of opponents such as Mathieu Flamini. It will surely be far into the return leg before the outcome of this tie can be glimpsed.
ARSENAL: Lehmann, Sagna, Toure (Senderos 7), Gallas, Clichy, Eboue (Walcott 89), Flamini, Fabregas, Hleb, Adebayor, Eduardo (Bendtner 74). Subs not used: Fabianski, Denilson, Silva, Justin Hoyte. Booked: Senderos, Eboue.
AC MILAN: Kalac, Oddo, Nesta (Jankulovski 50), Maldini, Kaladze, Pirlo, Gattuso, Kaka, Seedorf (Emerson 86), Ambrosini, Alexandre Pato (Gilardino 77). Subs not used: Fiori, Inzaghi, Bonera, Brocchi. Booked: Alexandre Pato.
Referee: C Bo Larsen (Denmark).
