Arsenal found an unlikely goalscoring saviour last night when Martin Keown scored twice in the last six minutes, the second in injury-time, to complete a comeback from two goals down to beat Shakhtar Donetsk.

There had been a sense of expectation among the Arsenal fans, not only because they felt Shakhtar would be easily defeated but because this was the first Champions League match played at Highbury after two unsuccessful seasons at Wembley.

The 1-0 win in Prague last week had put the Gunners in a strong position to progress beyond the first group stage and with their players said to be on a £9,000-a-man win bonus per match in this competition they had every incentive to go for the jugular immediately against a Shakhtar team beaten 3-0 by Lazio in Ukraine last week.

They began impressively, looking too powerful and pacy for a team who had battled through two qualifying rounds to reach this stage for the first time. Thierry Henry had the ball in the net inside three minutes only to be flagged offside, harshly replays suggested, as he burst on to Nwanwko Kanu's pass.

It was a sign of the task facing a young Shakhtar team, five of whose players were 23 or under, that their experienced captain Sergei Popov was booked for a late, groin-high challenge on Vieira.

Robert Pires should have given Arsenal the lead in the 13th minute. But, played through by Henry's cute pass, he could only hit the goalkeeper's legs and if there was a danger to Arsenal it seemed to lie in poor finishing, a problem all season, or complacency.

Shakhtar hail from the mining region of eastern Ukraine and Virt could have done with a hard hat as the shots rained in. Not long after Kanu had sent an effort wide, Henry rattled the bar with a free-kick from 25 yards before the game turned amazingly as Shakhtar scored twice inside four minutes just before the half-hour.

The first had a huge element of fortune. David Seaman seemed to have Alexei Bakharev's free-kick covered but the ball took a big deflection off Pires and flew into the opposite corner to the delight of the small but noisy pocket of orange-clad visiting fans.

Barely had that claxon-hooting bunch got over the first goal when the second arrived. Sergei Atelkin sent a clever reverse pass between Keown and Oleg Luzhny, playing in place of the injured Tony Adams, and the 21-year-old Ukraine striker Andrei Vorobey neatly shot across Seaman and into the corner for his 11th goal of the season.

Suddenly Shakhtar found a new determination and were a threat on the counterattack as Arsenal took time to find their rhythm again. But the game turned their way just before half-time.

First Popov was dismissed after a second booking for checking Vieira as the midfielder tried to burst through on goal. And then Arsenal were awarded a penalty when Sylvain Wiltord, a substitute for Pires, was clattered by Mykhaylo Starostyak as he tried to reach a cross by Dixon. Henry's spot-kick was saved but Wiltord put in the rebound.

Arsenal's worried supporters must have expected their team to begin the second half with a welter of attacks. And after briefly struggling as Shakhtar put up to 10 men behind the ball, the chances began to arrive.

A brilliant display of close control by Kanu which took him past three players ended with a low shot that fizzed just wide of the far post. Then Henry had an effort saved before meeting Silvinho's powerful left-wing cross and sending a back-flick narrowly wide.

The Frenchman's aim was no better when he met a Wiltord centre at the near post and flicked it wide of the far one when he might have done better. Barely had Virt recovered from that when he was flinging himself to block from Wiltord.

As the levels of frustration at Highbury rose, and with Shakhtar defending in numbers, the introduction of Dennis Bergkamp brought the number of Arsenal strikers to four and represented a last throw of the dice.

It seemed Arsenal would pay for several missed chances against a Donetsk side reduced to 10 men just before half-time. But with time running out, Keown first chested in a corner by Bergkamp and then scored from close range from a Kanu cross. Embarrassment avoided then, but only just.

Arsenal: Seaman, Dixon, Vieira, Keown, Pires (Wiltord 34), Ljungberg (Bergkamp 66), Henry, Silvinho, Grimandi, Luzhny, Kanu. Subs Not Used: Lukic, Parlour, Vivas, Cole, Vernazza. Booked: Keown. Goals: Wiltord 45, Keown 85, 90.

Shakhtar Donetsk: Virt, Starostyak, Gleveckas, Tymoschuk, Popov, Bakharev (Byelik 69), Zubov, Atelkin (Kovalyov 76), Vorobei, Shevchuk, Adamov (Kriventsov 58). Subs Not Used: Shutkov, Chmarko, Savu, Aliuta. Sent Off: Popov (45). Booked: Starostyak, Virt. Goals: Bakharev 26, Vorobei 29.

Referee: Hartmut Strampe (Germany).