Arsenal 0 Fenerbahce 0:ARSENAL HAD enjoyed the habit in this season's Champions League of bouncing back in style from Premier League setbacks. The defeats against Fulham and Hull City had been followed by 4-0 thumpings of FC Twente and Porto. More of the same was required last night, after the angst and injuries at Stoke City on Saturday, in the club's third defeat of the season. Yet when Arsene Wenger's men sought to turn the screw, they found no bite.

Having dominated the first half and chiselled out a string of presentable chances, they ran out of steam and ideas against a team who resolutely kept 10 men behind the ball.

Nerviness undermined Arsenal. Wenger had raged after the Stoke game about cowardice in his opponents' ranks and a deliberate desire to inflict harm. Here he cut a frustrated figure. There was no tonic ahead of Saturday's showdown with Manchester United, while Porto's win at Dynamo Kiev was also not part of the Arsenal script. Boos and empty seats greeted the final whistle.

Pent-up frustration had coloured the build-up to this tie and after making five changes to his starting line-up Wenger was determined to renew optimism. It quickly became apparent the game was there for Arsenal to take.

There was a measure of relief in the time that they enjoyed on the ball - this was no high-tempo Premier League dust-up - and they had chances to move into the lead in the early running. Robin van Persie, signing off before a three-match domestic suspension for his sending-off at Stoke, was at their beating heart.

The suspect Fenerbahce central defensive partnership of Lugano and Edu struggled to contain him and their hearts leapt for the first time when he raced on to Cesc Fabregas' gloriously weighted chip to reach the ball seconds before goalkeeper Volkan Demirel. He stabbed only narrowly wide.

Van Persie turned provider shortly afterwards when he outstripped Selcuk Sahin to cross from the right. Volkan's parry appeared to tee up the ball for the well-placed Samir Nasri but his first touch was laced with nerves.

Van Persie headed for the interval unable to believe he had not broken the stalemate. He was denied at close range by a desperate challenge from Lugano after more incisive work from Fabregas, and with the chance of the half, following Kolo Toure's fine through-ball, he jinked on to his left foot and watched Volkan tip his shot against the crossbar.

Fenerbahce needed a win but they seemed content to contain and punch on the counter.

Wenger's travails, it must be said, paled when set against those of his Fenerbahce counterpart Luis Aragones. The cantankerous Spaniard might have guided his team to the group stage but not much has gone right since. His team have won four and lost four of their opening nine Turkish league fixtures, they sit ninth in the table and defeat this weekend against rivals Galatasaray could hasten the end for him. The demands on Arsenal's stand-in goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski in the first half were minimal.

The game should have been over at half-time and the longer it wore on, the more the crowd's anxieties grew. They howled when Fabianski stayed on his line as Ugur Boral raced through and they were not wholly satisfied when he tipped the subsequent shot around his post.

Lugano was fortunate to escape with a yellow card when he chopped down Van Persie as he spun onto Fabregas' throughball and the striker headed over after Gael Clichy had crossed from the left. Van Persie appeared to be on a one-man crusade.

Arsenal's efforts were disjointed in the second half. As at Stoke, they finished the game bloodied, Mikael Silvestre catching an elbow from Semih Senturk and being forced off. They have it all to do to pick themselves up for the visit of United.

ARSENAL: Fabianski, Toure, Djourou, Silvestre (Song Billong 83), Clichy, Ramsey (Diaby 59), Fabregas, Denilson, Nasri, Bendtner (Vela 59), Van Persie. Subs not used: Mannone, Sagna, Wilshere, Gibbs. Booked: Djourou, Van Persie.

FENERBAHCE: Demirel, Gonul, Edu Dracena, Lugano, Roberto Carlos (Wederson 68), Maldonado (Josico 68), Sahin, Boral, Kazim-Richards (Bilgin 59), Senturk, Guiza. Subs not used: Babacan, Yilmaz, Cakmak, Deivid. Booked: Sahin, Lugano, Wederson.

Referee: Roberto Rosetti (Italy).