Arsenal vs Anderlecht, Champions League: as it happened 21.54 In fact I wholeheartedly urge you to read this column by Gary Neville on the death of defending in the Premier League. It is brilliant. It really is brilliant. And it seems rather relevant. 21.52 Questions will be raised about Arsenal's defence again. Questions will be raised about their midfield again. As I have repeated countless times during this blog they are so, so good going forward and so, so bad at the back. 21.48 Some choice words from Arteta: "Not good enough." It's not at the level required of this club. We threw everything away. Understandably he looked furious. 21.46 And yet let's gain some perspective. Arsenal are almost certain to qualify from the group. In the grand scheme of things this result will count for nothing. It was fun though wasn't it? 21.45 I have no doubt that Arsene Wenger will be furious about the blatant offside first Anderlecht goal. But it should never have mattered. The manner in which his side went into their shell was embarrassing. They just capitulated in the face of pressure. 21.42 So the team that turned up 30 minutes before kick-off, the team full of teenagers, the team that had no right to even score tonight came back from 3-0 down to draw 3-3. Oh Arsenal. 21.40 We were all meant to be watching the match at the Bernabeu tonight weren't we? 21.37 The boos ring out around the ground. What a result. Who on earth would have predicted that at 3-0? Arsenal were cruising. Cruising I tell you. Full time 90+4 min One last chance for Arsenal, who have a free-kick on the right-hand side deep inside the Anderlecht half. Cazorla takes... but the ball is headed away. And that is that. 90+3 min Vanden Borre works his way into the book for a horrific challenge on Sanchez but the two-goal hero won't care one bit. 90+2 min They've thrown away a three-goal lead. Appalling. 90+1 min And the Arsenal fans are heading home... Arsenal 3-3 Anderlecht (Mitrovic, 90) Well it was coming. Simple stuff from the Belgians as Najar whips a cracking cross in from the left and Mitrovic, who has been excellent since coming off the bench, flings himself at the ball to put his diving header past Szczesny. 88 min It's radio silence from the Arsenal fans as they busy themselves chewing nails. 86 min Desperate times call for desperate measures as Flamini crashes into Kawaya when the Anderlecht man is running through on goal, but the referee decides not to blow his whistle. That was either the strongest tackle you've ever seen or a foul. I know which one I think. 84 min Anderlecht hit the crossbar! Acheampong gets forward to support his side's attack from full-back and is given the ball 12 yards out on the left. He unleashes a fierce drive which clips the woodwork on its route into the stands. 83 min It's going to hurt... 81 min Arsenal are a completely different prospect offensively and defensively. One is lethal. The other is calamitous. A couple of changes as Welbeck and Oxlade-Chamberlain are replaced by Rosicky and Podolski. No Walcott today then. 80 min This is one-way traffic. And it is not in the direction that the majority of people inside the Emirates want. Gibbs is forced to head the ball over his own bar under serious pressure at the far post. 78 min ...Tielemans will take. He beats the wall but there is little power on the shot and Szczesny is able to hold on with ease. 77 min Arsenal are completely rocked after that second goal. They looked so comfortable 15 minutes ago and suddenly they are all over the place. Oxlade-Chamberlain concedes a foul about 26 yards out to give away a free-kick... 76 min Vanden Borre = good finisher, hopeless defender. The Anderlecht left-back is easily dispossessed by Cazorla deep inside his own half and the Spaniard's shot brings a smart low save out of Proto. 75 min I really do hate to agree with Piers Morgan but... 74 min Well I've seen a replay and, despite Monreal's protestations, it does look as though the Spaniard had a big chunk of Mitrovic in his grasp. In fact he was mightily lucky not to be sent off. That could very easily have been a straight red card. As it is he is just shown a yellow. Arsenal 3-2 Anderlecht (Vanden Borre, 72) We have a game on our hands! Out of nowhere Vanden Borre has scored twice. PENALTY to Anderlecht A nice dinked ball wrongfoots Monreal and the Arsenal centre-back is ruled to have hauled down Motrovic inside the penalty area. 71 min Close for Arsenal again. Welbeck is the man with the cross, Sanchez is the man with the neat flick and Oxlade-Chamberlain is the man whose shot is blocked. It is chucking it down at the Emirates. 69 min Of course a fourth goal for Arsenal would out this game to bed and Welbeck comes close, rising to head a corner goalwards for Proto to hold onto. 68 min An Anderlecht second would make this incredibly interesting. The Belgian supporters are roaring their side on and drowning out the home fans. Mind you, if the state of most of them when I walked past the stadium eight hours ago is anything to go by I can't imagine any of them are sober enough to know what is going on. 66 min In fact the goal seems to have awoken Anderlecht. The visitors are breaking forward at will and this time Acheampong is the man to get in behind the Arsenal defence but Flamini does well to keep his cross from reaching its target. 63 min I'm not sure that goal will be anything more than a consolation for the visitors. There is more bad news for Wenger's side though as Arteta hobbles off to be replaced by Flamini. Anderlecht also make their third change taking Cyriac off for Mitrovic. Arsenal 3-1 Anderlecht (Vanden Borre, 60) He's been terrible defensively tonight but somehow the former Portsmouth man has pulled a goal back. Yet he is about two yards offside!! The linesman has had a shocker. It wasn't even hard to see. Kawaya sets it up with some good work down the left and the substitute cuts it inside to Vanden Borre, who is both completely unmarked four yards out from goal and offside, and he simply slots it past Szczesny. Arsenal 3-0 Anderlecht (Oxlade-Chamberlain, 58) It's all about pace. Sheer speed. Sanchez battles hard to win back possession on the left and the ball falls to Oxlade-Chamberlain. That's the end of it. The England man straps on the jets, waves Vanden Borre goodbye and bends the ball into the far corner after a five-metre burst to break into the penalty area. 56 min Dortmund are now 2-0 up against Galatasaray so it looks like Group D is all over with two and a half matches to spare. 55 min When Arsenal are good they are very, very ... you know. Ramsey spins in behind his defender on the left flank before passing to Oxlade-Chamberlain who is up in support. The Ox dinks a cross over two defenders and Welbeck gets his head to the ball but can only nod it wide of the far post. 53 min Not ideal for Anderlecht as the superbly-named 19-year-old Leander Dendoncker is forced to replace the injured Mbemba. 51 min Cazorla, whose name I don't think I have typed yet during this game, clips a delightful ball into Sanchez on the edge of the box but, despite exquisite control on his chest, two defenders close in to end the danger. 47 min Breathless 30 seconds inside the Anderlecht penalty area. About seven Arsenal players could have had a shot but pass follows pass follows pass until Gibbs finds himself with the ball unmarked in front of the goal ... and passes to Oxlade-Chamberlain whose shot is blocked. Arsenal supporters get to see some great football don't they. 46 min Here we go again. One change for Anderlecht sees 18-year-old Andy Kawaya come on for Conte. Expect to see much more of this in the second half: 20.44 Paul Merson - please no. Half time The scoreline is of little surprise. Arsenal have looked as dangerous as everyone expected in attack while having fortune on their side a couple of times after some carelessness at the back. Sanchez is simply a world away from the football the Belgians are capable of. That man is on fire. 45 min Ouchy for Ramsey who receives a knee in the back. A few moments of concern and memories of Neymar at the World Cup before the Welshman hauls himself up. 43 min I think this picture accurately reflects Mbemba's clumsiness in giving away the penalty: 41 min Arsenal are starting to purr. Sanchez plays a gorgeous lofted ball over the Anderlecht defence for Welbeck to run on to. The striker bears down on goal from the left but Mbemba does well to slide in at the key moment and knock the ball behind for a corner. 39 min Dortmund have taken a 1-0 lead against Galatasaray which means Arsenal and Dortmund qualify from the group tonight if the scorelines stay the same. 38 min There's that pace again. Arteta unleashes The Ox down the left who burns Vanden Borre and squares the ball across the face of goal where it just evades Welbeck. If anything Oxlade-Chamberlain was too fast for everyone there. In Ox, Walcott, Sanchez and Welbeck do Arsenal have the fastest front four in England? 34 min And yet still Arsenal are susceptible on the break. This time Praet finds himself with the ball on the edge of the Arsenal box after a quick counter-attack but he decides to shoot when Cyriac is all alone in acres of space to his left. The Belgian's effort is deflected wide and the chance comes to nothing. Understandably Cyriac is not a happy bunny with that decision. 32 min The pace of the Arsenal attack compared to the complete dearth of any speed in the Anderlecht back line is horribly apparent. The visitors have no answer when Arsenal run at them. Arsenal 2-0 Anderlecht (Sanchez, 29) Oh wow! Wow! Sanchez dusts himself off after being fouled to take the free-kick and hits it straight into the wall. In the blink of an eye the ball rebounds back to him and he volleys it in quite brilliant fashion back through the wall and past Proto. Incredible. Have I said wow yet? 28 min My word Sanchez is good. You don't need me to tell you that though. The Chilean picks the ball up inside the Arsenal half, jinks left, jinks right, turns on the gas and leaves everyone for dead before eventually being fouled two yards outside the penalty area. Stunning. 27 min Was that a Panenka? I have a feeling that may have been a semi-Panenka. Not a vintage one by any stretch. But in the Panenka realm. Arsenal 1-0 Anderlecht (Arteta, 25) Up steps the veteran to take the spotkick. Proto goes to ground marginally too soon and Arteta simply lifts it over him and gives Arsenal the lead. PENALTY to Arsenal It's all about the pace of Welbeck. The forward bursts in behind the Anderlecht defence and forces the clumsiest of challenges Mbemba who climbs all over him from behind. No doubt about that decision. 22 min Sanchez hits the post!! Chambers finds the Chilean who injects a beautiful burst of pace to get in front of his opposite number and fire in a bullet shot from a tight angle that thwacks against the outside of the near post and behind for a goalkick. 21 min Arsenal are far and away the better team here but they have been so careless on multiple occasions. This time Ramsey loses the ball with a silly flick in the middle of the park and Mertesacker is called into action to halt the attack. 19 min Walcott has vowed not to let his feet touch the ground until he is given the signal to go onto the pitch. That's literally a fact. 18 min But possession is not translating into goalscoring threat at all and it is Anderlecht who go so close to grabbing the opener! The Arsenal defence is all over the place as Kljestan dances his way through them, works some space to the right side of the penalty area and shoots with Szcezsny relieved to beat the ball away. A good save in the end. 16 min Arsenal have had 74 per cent of the possession so far. 14 min It's 0-0 at the Bernabeu as well so you can shove off Samzen. 13 min Superb from Oxlade-Chamberlain and superb from Arsenal. The Ox scythes his way through three defenders on the right and cuts the ball acorss into the danger area. Anderlecht only clear as far as Chambers who spies Ramsey in six yards out and the Welshman's shot is very well saved by Proto. 9 min Oooooh what do I know? Welbeck loses the ball high up the pitch and suddenly the visitors break at pace. Praet is the man to try his luck from range and the ball thuds into Mertesacker, wrongfoots Szczesny and pings inches wide. Arsenal are undoubtedly going to dominate possession tonight but that chance came about due to the home side committing too many players forward. 5 min Anderlecht have a corner thanks to a deflection off Acheampong's long-range effort. Tielemans will take... and it loops gently into Szczesny's hands. At least the first effort counts as a shot for the Belgians. I can't see them having too many. 4 min First moment of excitement grips the Emirates as Gibbs makes up a five-yard deficit to beat Vanden Borre, who literally falls over in surprise, and the Arsenal full-back brings the ball into the Anderlecht penalty area. There the move breaks down. Perhaps Vanden Borre peaked on Championship Manager 2007. 2 min By the way, Anderlecht's holding midfielder Youri Tielemans is just 17 years old. He's going to be seriously up against it tonight. I'm not sure the visitors have touched the ball yet other than to hoof it clear. 1 min Hmmm, lots of empty seats. Late arrivals or at home watching Liverpool's reserves get thumped by Real Madrid? 19.44 Anderlecht have won the coin toss. Big omen. Big. 19.35 I can't imagine tonight will be much fun for Anderlecht's lone striker Cyriac. He has something else in his favour though: His full name is Cyriac Gohi Bi Zoro Sede. That is unbeatable. 19.31 Anderlecht's starting right-back tonight is Anthony Vanden Borre. You might recall he had a brief loan spell at Portsmouth five years ago. I mainly remember him for being very, very good on my Championship Manager game some time around 2007. 19.28 You may remember that it hasn't been that long since these two teams last met. Just two weeks ago goals from Kieran Gibbs (89th minute) and Lukas Podolski (90+1 minute) gave Arsenal a 2-1 win in Belgium. The below stats suggest this match might be easier: Anderlecht coach Besnik Hasi has lost all eight matches in which he has competed against English sides (including two against the England national team) as a player and coach. - The Belgian champions have finished bottom of their Champions League group in all seven times they have been in the competition since 2001. - Anderlecht's record in England is: W0 D1 L12. 19.20 That's the bad boy I was talking about. 19.14 We have some Belgians! Anderlecht: Proto, Vanden Borre, Mbemba, Deschacht, Acheampong, Kliejstan, Tielemans, Najar, Praet, Conté, Cyriac. Subs: Roef, Colin, Heylen, Dendoncker, Kawaya, Kabasele, Mitrović 19.12 Still no news on Anderlecht's team but we already know that they are missing key players Steven Defour, Matias Suarez, Fabrice N'Sakala and Bram Nuytinck through injury. By the way, Arsenal can qualify for the knockout stages if they win tonight and Borussia Dortmund beat Galatasaray in Germany. I suspect both of those things will indeed happen. 19.01 I know they've only picked up one point from three Champions League games but this match does still require Anderlecht to turn up. 18.57 Still no starting spot for Theo then but Ramsey for Flamini is the only change from the side that beat Burnley at the weekend. No news on the Anderlecht starting XI and this is probably why: 18.49 Here is your Arsenal team: Szczesny, Chambers, Mertesacker, Monreal, Gibbs, Arteta, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Ramsey, Alexis, Cazorla, Welbeck. Subs: Martinez, Bellerin, Flamini, Rosicky, Podolski, Walcott, Sanogo 18.46 Team news is imminent. Theo Walcott is in contention to return to the Arsenal starting line-up for the first time in aaaaages, but Jack Wilshere misses out through illness. Aaron Ramsey is also pushing for a start. 18.40 So I was wandering around the Arsenal area today (I always ensure I take a stadium tour of the home side on the day I am on liveblogging duty ... that isn't true) and Anderlecht fans had completely taken over. Interestingly they were, almost to a man, wearing those much-hated half-half scarves. You know the ones: half Arsenal and half Anderlecht. Thousands of them. Which got me wondering: Do other European countries simply not treat the half-half scarf with as much disdain as Brits? Or does the usual disdain go out of the window when playing a foreign club in the Champions League? 18.30 Sorry that's a bit harsh. I apologise to all Anderlecht fans out there. This match is big enough in itself. Of course the biggest Arsenal game of the day has already taken place and I can report that the result was Arsenal U19s 1-2 Anderlecht U19s. Here is Arsenal's Daniel Crowley riding an imaginary horse during that match: 18.15 Evening folks, ready for the big one? So what do we all think about Brendan Rodgers resting half his team then? He's lost the plot hasn't ... what do you mean I'm blogging the Arsenal match??? Oh, talk about short straw... 17.00 Ben will get the blog going at about 6.30pm. In the meantime read this informative preview piece from PA. Preview Arsène Wenger believes Arsenal are finally showing signs of developing the killer instinct required to succeed in the Champions League. Wenger's side will aim to stay in the race to finish top of Group D when they host Anderlecht on Tuesday and the Gunners boss knows it will be a night when patience and predatory finishing will be essential qualities. Arsenal are three points behind group leaders Borussia Dortmund in second place and a win over Anderlecht, combined with a victory for the Germans against Galatasaray, would guarantee the north Londoners a place in the last 16, while keeping them in with a chance of finishing in first place and potentially earning an easier draw in the knockout stages. Arsenal snatched a 2-1 win against Anderlecht in the reverse fixture two weeks ago despite being outplayed for long periods, but Wenger doesn't expect the Belgian side to be so adventurous at the Emirates Stadium. With that in mind, Wenger has told his players to display the kind of patient approach that eventually broke down Burnley after 70 minutes of their 3-0 Premier League victory on Saturday. Chile forward Alexis Sanchez took his tally to 10 goals with a double strike to end Burnley's stubborn resistance and Wenger believes the way his team continued to stay positive despite the frustrations of seeing Burnley goalkeeper Tom Heaton pull off a string of saves has them moving in the right direction. In the recent games at home we were not patient and we have learned. We look a bit more balanced between offence and defence," Wenger said. We were less in trouble when we lost the ball, we were serious and that is very important in the efficiency. Key to Arsenal's resurgence has been the impressive form of Sanchez, a pre-season buy from Barcelona, who Wenger has deployed in a more central attacking role following injury to Germany playmaker Mesut Ozil. Wenger is confident Sanchez can handle the additional responsibility, having compared him and the Uruguayan former Liverpool striker Luis Suarez to tough South American "street footballers" in the build-up to Saturday's match. "I was ready to give him time if he needed it, but he has settled in much quicker than expected," Wenger said. Now I play him through the middle and he has shown he can find the ball, he can dribble and he can go at you. There are similarities with (Luis) Suarez a little bit by going at you, by being where you do not expect him to be in the box, and by having that huge desire to be at the end of things.