By Daniel Oriloye - Arsenal came from two goals down to draw with Wolfsburg in the first leg of their Women's Champions League semi-final in Germany.
Striker Stina Blackstenius capped off a tireless display when she equalised in the second half to keep Arsenal's pursuit of a second European trophy alive.
A poor first half by the Gunners was almost punished as Wolfsburg took a deserved 2-0 lead after just 24 minutes, helped by a handful of mistakes from the visiting defence.
The competition's top scorer Ewa Pajor netted her eighth goal in the Champions League this season when her run into the box was untracked and she coolly slotted it past goalkeeper Manuela Zinsberger.
Rafaelle Souza's terrible error then gifted Sveindis Jane Jonsdottir a goal from close range for Wolfsburg's second but the Arsenal defender made amends with a towering header on the stroke of half-time.
That goal kept Arsenal in the game and they improved in the second half, reducing Wolfsburg to fewer chances and posing a greater threat at the other end.
It paid off when Blackstenius was teed up by Victoria Pelova and it means Arsenal return to Emirates Stadium for the second leg on Monday, 1 May still in with a chance of reaching the final.
But Jonas Eidevall's injury-hit side will need to improve as they looked disjointed defensively and were far from their flowing best, displayed in the superb quarter-final victory over Bayern Munich.
The Gunners were dealt heavy blows this week when key players Kim Little and Leah Williamson were ruled out with serious injuries and it showed in Germany - but Arsenal's resilience was fully on display.
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