Arsenal captain William Gallas bundled in a late equalizer to rescue a point from the Gunners' opening Champions League Group G game against Dynamo Kiev.
Emmanuel Adebayor, Robin van Persie, twice, and Cesc Fabregas all had good first-half chances for the Barclays Premier League club, who have still yet to win a European tie in the former Soviet Union.
Kiev looked to have made them pay a heavy price when, on 64 minutes, Bacary Sagna was adjudged to have pushed over Ognjen Vukojevic and Ismael Bangoura scored from the penalty spot.
Then, just as time looked to be running out, Gallas - who had made a mistake in the build-up to the goal - netted at close range following a low cross by Theo Walcott.
Arsenal had been beaten twice by Dynamo, in 1998 and 2003, but the small traveling section almost had something to celebrate inside two minutes.
Van Persie got in down the right channel from Walcott's pass, but his low angled shot was saved at the near post by Stanislav Bogush.
Dynamo - who took great delight when they knocked Spartak Moscow out of the qualifiers - soon settled and began to build a sustained period of pressure.
Arsenal, though, continued to look dangerous on the break.
In the 19th minute, Adebayor capitalized on poor control by Roman Eremenko and sprinted into the Dynamo penalty area.
However, the Togo striker - who netted a hat-trick against Blackburn on Saturday - sent his shot wide when he really should have hit the target.
When Arsenal gave the ball away carelessly, Dynamo captain Andriy Nesmachniy could only smash a 25-yard drive high over the crossbar.
As half-time approached, Van Persie rifled the ball into the side netting following good work from full-back Sagna down the right.
Arsenal carved out an even better chance when Adebayor fed Van Persie with a ball across goal, which was cut back for Fabregas - but he could only manage a tame shot straight at the keeper from six yards.
At the start of the second half, Dynamo almost snatched the lead when Eremenko got clear down the right and cut inside Arsenal captain William Gallas.
Manuel Almunia got a fingertip to his shot, which came back off the inside of the post and the Arsenal keeper was able to gather.
Walcott had to briefly go off for treatment for cramp, but was soon back in the action as he set up Van Persie down the left - only for the Dutchman to skew his shot horribly wide.
Fabregas was on target again with a 25-yard drive, but once more hit the ball straight at the Kiev keeper.
A mistake by Gallas allowed Bangoura to get away down the right.
Although Arsenal tracked back, the ball was eventually played into the penalty area where Ognjen Vukojevic went down under pressure from Sagna - and the referee had seen enough contact from the defender to immediately point to the spot before booking him.
Guinea international Bangoura stepped up to send Almunia the wrong way and, after 64 minutes, turn the match in favor of the hosts.
The English side were now chasing a game they should have already wrapped up following their first-half dominance.
Gunners boss Arsene Wenger made a change when Alex Song was replaced by young Danish striker Nicklas Bendtner.
Arsenal, though, still looked vulnerable to the counter-attack as they chased the game, and Bangoura hit the side netting following another quick break down the Dynamo left.
Emmanuel Eboue replaced Sagna for the final 13 minutes before a far-post header by Adebayor almost sneaked in.
Mexican striker Carlos Vela came on for Van Persie in a last throw of the dice by Wenger - and Arsenal rescued a point when Gallas bundled in at the far post following a low cross by Walcott for the skipper's third goal of the European campaign this season.
