A wonderful piece of play by Dennis Bergkamp completed a memorable win here for Arsenal last night as Arsene Wenger's team saw off a strong recovery by Juventus to achieve the victory which Highbury's Champions League aspirations demanded.
Bergkamp, who had come off the bench 20 minutes from the end, used his outstanding control to outwit two defenders as he flicked the ball up on an instep before sending in Fredrik Ljungberg to score his second goal of the night and complete a 3-1 victory.
For Arsenal only a win would do. Having lost so lamely to Deportivo in Coruna two weeks earlier they needed to remind themselves that serious progress in the Champions League this season was still a viable option.
Juventus, fresh from their 4-0 win over Bayer Leverkusen, were just the touchstone Arsenal needed to prove again that they could be good Europeans. After all, Celtic had scored six times against the Italian side in the first group.
Then again, Juventus had scored half-a-dozen against Celtic and in next to no time last night Pavel Nedved was linking up with Alessandro del Piero to blow Arsenal's cover on the right and force a couple of quick corners.
Del Piero, like the rest of his side, is in good form just now and after five minutes gathered a pass from Igor Tudor before cutting inside for a shot which Stuart Taylor, Arsenal's third-choice goalkeeper, did well to push wide of the far post.
Juventus appeared intent on setting up a forward headquarters in Arsenal's half. Patrick Vieira was being forced to hunt the ball in areas where normally he is dominant. It was nearly 10 minutes before Arsenal declared an attacking presence but when they did Nwankwo Kanu set up Ashley Cole for a shot from the left which Gianluigi Buffon nervously diverted behind.
The success Vieira and Ray Parlour had in denying Tudor and Alessio Tacchinardi the authority they sought in midfield was always going to determine the sort of grip Arsenal managed to get on the game. That and the alertness of their defenders in keeping track of Del Piero, David Trezeguet and Nedved, whose angled shot drew another sharp save from Taylor in the 15th minute.
But for Taylor, then, Arsenal might have been two down after a quarter of an hour. In fact they went ahead six minutes later.
The Juventus defence had already looked vulnerable under the slightest pressure. When Lauren tried to cut in, the ball was cleared but merely went to Vieira, who calmly made space for a shot which Buffon blocked but could not hold. Fredrik Ljungberg snaffled the rebound.
Arsenal were now wearing the superior air. Another two minutes and Parlour gathered a square pass from Robert Pires before producing a rising shot which Buffon just managed to touch over. Another six and Thierry Henry's 22-yard free-kick was swerving beyond the Juventus goalkeeper to increase the lead.
With Edgar Davids, who had replaced Tudor after Arsenal's first goal, augmenting their attack, the Italian side were far from done. Del Piero remained the principal threat and within five minutes of the second half he had instigated the situation which eventually restored Juventus to the contest, albeit fortuitously. His angled shot was parried by Taylor and when Trezeguet drove the rebound back towards goal Sol Campbell was on the line to stop it. But then the ball hit Taylor on the back and bounced into the net.
Juventus took off Nedved to bring on Nicola Amoruso to give Trezeguet added support. But another goal for Arsenal nearly arrived after 77 minutes.
Taylor's long kick was headed square by Bergkamp and neatly returned by Henry for the Dutchman's volley to bring a smart save from Buffon. Then, two minutes later, Del Piero's drive swerved just wide.
ARSENAL: Taylor, Lauren, Campbell, Upson, Cole (Keown 89), Ljungberg, Parlour, Vieira, Pires, Henry (Grimandi 84), Kanu (Bergkamp 69). Subs Not Used: Stack, van Bronckhorst, Edu, Inamoto. Booked: Kanu. Goals: Ljungberg 21, Henry 27, Ljungberg 88.
JUVENTUS: Buffon, Birindelli, Thuram, Montero, Pessotto (Paramatti 77), Zambrotta, Tudor (Davids 21), Tacchinardi, Nedved (Amoruso 71), Del Piero, Trezeguet.
Subs Not Used: Rampulla, Ferrara, Iuliano, Zenoni. Booked: Nedved, Birindelli, Davids. Goal: Taylor 51 og.
Referee: Manuel Melo Pereira (Portugal)
