We dominated the match but created little and Wenger’s inaction allowed the game to drift into the hands of Leyton Orient and a lucrative, Las Vegas funding replay for Barry Hearn’s club.

After a dreary first half we managed to take the lead a quarter of the way through the second. Bendtner’s pull back allowed Tomas Rosicky to angle an unusual header into the corner of the net from 17 yards out. It was a rare goal for the Czech international and appeared to be the catalyst for us to secure the victory.

Unfortunately we lost momentum and, unlike the Barcelona game, the manager failed to make the substitutions that could have cemented our progression to a quarter final at Old Trafford. Instead he made no changes and Leyton Orient grabbed a famous equaliser in the 89^th minute when Tehoue stormed through two half-hearted challeneges from Gibbs and debutant Miquel before slamming a very saveable shot under Almunia’s despairing fall dive.

Another game for the packed Arsenal fixture list but it was not a disaster and perhaps predicatable after the heroics of Wednesday evening. We now host Stoke before Wenger faces a true test of his priorities when selecting the Carling Cup Final line up.

Photo: Action Images

Arsenal Polls