Champions League
ArsenalArsenal3AnderlechtRSC Anderlecht3

Arsenal 3-3 RSC Anderlecht

By Neil JohnstonBBC Sport
Aleksander Mitrovic scores a dramatic last minute equaliser for Anderlecht against Arsenal
  • Arsenal blow a 3-0 lead to draw 3-3
  • Gunners need one point from two games
  • Anderlecht score three goals in 29 minutes
  • Belgian champions have two Group D points

Arsenal moved to the brink of the Champions League's last 16 despite blowing a 3-0 lead against Anderlecht.

Mikel Arteta's penalty put the Gunners ahead after Danny Welbeck was fouled by Chancel Mbemba.

Alexis Sanchez doubled the lead with a stunning 20-yard volley before Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain added the third.

Anthony Vanden Borre reduced the deficit from close range before scoring a penalty, with Aleksandar Mitrovic equalising in the last minute.

Arsenal were set to book their place in the knockout stages when substitute Mitrovic headed Andy Najar's 90th-minute cross past Wojciech Szczesny from close range.

Arsenal players react to their 3-3 draw with Anderlecht
Arsenal have conceded seven goals in their last four Champions League matches

The Londoners still need one point from their two remaining games - at home to Borussia Dortmund on 26 November and at Galatasaray on 9 December - to advance.

But with Dortmund five points clear, their hopes of finishing top of the group and heading into next month's draw as one of the seeded teams are fading.

Gunners boss Arsene Wenger looked furious at the end.

Though Vanden Borre was clearly offside when he scored his first goal, there can be no excuses for the lapses of concentration that allowed the Belgian champions to take a point.

Indeed there was no evidence of the drama to come at a rain-lashed Emirates when two goals in the space of four first-half minutes put the Gunners in control.

Chile international Sanchez had already been denied by a post when Mbemba felled Welbeck to gift Arteta his first goal in the competition, the Spaniard coolly chipping his 25th-minute spot-kick down the middle.

It was 2-0 four minutes later, the tireless Sanchez finding the net with a sublime low 20-yard volley after his free-kick cannoned off the visitors' wall.

Anderlecht battled throughout but they looked beaten when Oxlade-Chamberlain put Wenger's side 3-0 ahead by drilling home after a powerful 58th-minute run.

Vanden Borre was at least a yard offside when he began Anderlecht's amazing fightback from close range in the 61st minute.

Nacho Monreal's clumsy foul on Mitrovic then allowed Vanden Borre to make it 3-2 from the penalty spot.

And, just as Arsenal appeared to have weathered Anderlecht's late flurry, the dangerous Mitrovic headed home to the delight of the 3,000 travelling fans.

Anderlecht manager Besnik Hasi:

"Maybe Arsenal thought that they were superior at 3-0 and they could have fun with the public.

"But I'm very very proud of my team and they showed their character and their quality. They did fantastic."

Check out the best of Tuesday's Champions League photos in our gallery on theBBC Sport Facebook page.external-link

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger
The last time Arsenal threw away a three goal lead was against Newcastle in the Premier League, a game that finished 4-4 in February 2011
Arsenal midfielder Aaron Ramsey
Arsenal have both scored and conceded at least three goals for the first time in a single Champions League game
Alexis Sanchez celebrates scoring against Anderlecht
Alexis Sanchez has now scored 11 goals in his last 13 appearances in all competitions for Arsenal

Line-ups

Arsenal

Formation 4-2-3-1

  • 1Szczesny
  • 21Chambers
  • 4Mertesacker
  • 18MonrealBooked at 72mins
  • 3Gibbs
  • 8ArtetaSubstituted forFlaminiat 62'minutes
  • 16Ramsey
  • 15Oxlade-ChamberlainSubstituted forRosickyat 81'minutes
  • 17Sánchez
  • 19Cazorla
  • 23WelbeckSubstituted forPodolskiat 82'minutes

Substitutes

  • 7Rosicky
  • 9Podolski
  • 14Walcott
  • 20Flamini
  • 22Sanogo
  • 26E Martínez
  • 39Bellerin

Anderlecht

Formation 4-2-3-1

  • 1Proto
  • 39Vanden BorreBooked at 90mins
  • 22Mbemba ManguluSubstituted forDendonckerat 54'minutes
  • 3Deschacht
  • 18Acheampong
  • 19KljestanBooked at 87mins
  • 31Tielemans
  • 7Najar
  • 10Praet
  • 20ConteSubstituted forKawayaat 45'minutes
  • 15CyriacSubstituted forMitrovicat 62'minutesBooked at 89mins

Substitutes

  • 12Colin
  • 24Heylen
  • 32Dendoncker
  • 33Roef
  • 38Kawaya
  • 42Kabasele
  • 45Mitrovic
Referee:
Clément Turpin
Attendance:
59,872

Match Stats

Home TeamArsenalAway TeamAnderlecht
Possession
Home65%
Away35%
Shots
Home18
Away11
Shots on Target
Home6
Away5
Corners
Home8
Away7
Fouls
Home10
Away14

Live Text

  1. Post update

    Match ends, Arsenal 3, RSC Anderlecht 3.

  2. Full Time

    Second Half ends, Arsenal 3, RSC Anderlecht 3.

  3. Post update

    Santiago Cazorla (Arsenal) wins a free kick on the right wing.

  4. Post update

    Foul by Dennis Praet (RSC Anderlecht).

  5. Booking

    Anthony Vanden Borre (RSC Anderlecht) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.

  6. Post update

    Alexis Sánchez (Arsenal) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

  7. Post update

    Foul by Anthony Vanden Borre (RSC Anderlecht).

  8. Post update

    Attempt missed. Lukas Podolski (Arsenal) left footed shot from outside the box misses to the right.

  9. Goal!

    Goal! Arsenal 3, RSC Anderlecht 3. Aleksandar Mitrovic (RSC Anderlecht) header from the centre of the box to the bottom right corner. Assisted by Andy Najar with a cross.

  10. Post update

    Hand ball by Alexis Sánchez (Arsenal).

  11. Booking

    Aleksandar Mitrovic (RSC Anderlecht) is shown the yellow card.

  12. Post update

    Alexis Sánchez (Arsenal) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

  13. Post update

    Foul by Dennis Praet (RSC Anderlecht).

  14. Post update

    Foul by Santiago Cazorla (Arsenal).

  15. Post update

    Sacha Kljestan (RSC Anderlecht) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

  16. Post update

    Attempt missed. Aaron Ramsey (Arsenal) right footed shot from outside the box is too high from a direct free kick.

  17. Booking

    Sacha Kljestan (RSC Anderlecht) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.

  18. Post update

    Tomas Rosicky (Arsenal) wins a free kick in the attacking half.

  19. Post update

    Foul by Sacha Kljestan (RSC Anderlecht).

  20. Post update

    Alexis Sánchez (Arsenal) wins a free kick in the attacking half.

As It Stood

A

TeamPWDLFAGDPts
1Atl Madrid430110379
2Olympiakos420267-16
3Juventus42025416
4Malmö FF410329-73

B

TeamPWDLFAGDPts
1Real Madrid4400112912
2FC Basel42026606
3Liverpool410326-43
4Ludogorets410338-53

C

TeamPWDLFAGDPts
1B Leverkusen43017349
2Monaco41211105
3Zenit St Petersburg411234-14
4Benfica411225-34

D

TeamPWDLFAGDPts
1B Dortmund44001311212
2Arsenal42119727
3Anderlecht402259-42
4Galatasaray4013313-101

E

TeamPWDLFAGDPts
1Bayern Munich33009189
2Roma311179-24
3Man City302134-12
4CSKA Moscow301238-51

F

TeamPWDLFAGDPts
1PSG32105327
2Barcelona32016426
3Ajax302135-22
4Apoel Nicosia301213-21

G

TeamPWDLFAGDPts
1Chelsea32108177
2Schalke31206515
3NK Maribor302128-62
4Sporting301246-21

H

TeamPWDLFAGDPts
1FC Porto321010377
2Shakhtar Donetsk31209275
3BATE Borisov3102214-123
4Ath Bilbao301224-21
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