arsne Wenger is far too urbane ever to wave two fingers at Arsenal's critics but his team had

a suitably defiant riposte for those who suggested their soft centre faced exposure in Serbia. The doom-mongers had claimed that Lukasz Fabianski keeping goal in a side shorn of Cesc Fbregas represented a recipe for disaster amid the most hostile of Champions League atmospheres but, ultimately, Wenger's youthful players made victory appear almost routine. Fabianski even saved a late penalty. If they were rarely permitted to show off their full passing repertoire, Arsenal refused to be bullied into submission and, having weathered a sticky start, deservedly prevailed with Jack Wilshere particularly impressive. Punctuated by a series of power cuts which saw two of the four floodlights repeatedly cut out and the game played at times under only partial light plus incessant chanting from the 32,000 capacity crowd, the night proved anything but serene. Indeed, with the electrical failures affecting the dressing rooms, Wenger's charges were sporadically plunged into darkness while changing. Their on-pitch reception proved more intimidating still, confronted as they were by a terrific display of waving black and white flags. Arsenal were also treated to a giant banner of Big Ben and the London Eye emblazoned with the message: "You have been run over by a Steamroller." It could have been less friendly though: Partizan are known as either 'The Steamroller' or 'The Gravediggers.'"We respect that kind of fantastic support," said Wenger, who agreed to proceed under intermittent half-light. "I thought it would be terrible to go home without playing, so when they asked me if I thought going ahead was acceptable I said yes." While Partizan face a heavy Uefa fine, Wenger experienced vindication. "It was important to win after our big disappointment losing against West Brom," said the Frenchman. "It puts us in a strong position confidence wise." The manager's faith in the previously accident-prone Fabianski aka 'Flappy Handski' in for the injured Manuel Almunia was swiftly rewarded when the Pole gathered an admittedly soft shot from Cleo, Partizan's Brazilian-born striker who had shrugged Johan Djourou and Sbastien Squillaci aside with ominous ease. Shortly afterwards, though, Partizan's rearguard suffered a somewhat more severe communications breakdown. It resulted in Arsenal scoring with their first shot at the end of a move started and finished by Andrey Arshavin. First, the Russian's pass found Alex Song who promptly played it short to Wilshere whose surge forward concluded with an adroit backheel flick from which Arshavin beat Vladimir Stojkovic, once of Wigan, with a low shot.

Suddenly Arsenal's composure came flooding back, their passing game clicked into rhythm and it took a last-ditch clearance from Marko Jovanovic to prevent Arshavin claiming a second goal courtesy of a cute chip over the advancing Stojkovic. Not that Partizan were out of it. Menacingly quick on the counter-attack, they nearly levelled when Medo's long-range shot skimmed the bar and did equalise as Cleo beat Fabianski from the penalty spot following Denlson's handball. Yet as that goal transported the stadium into high-decibel raptures, Wilshere was filling the gap left in midfield by Fbregas with intelligence and maturity. Accordingly Stojkovic was required to save a poorly struck second-half penalty from Arshavin after Jovanovic had been dismissed for bringing Marouane Chamakh down just inside the area. Shackled earlier, the Morocco striker promptly put things right, meeting Tomas Rosicky's cross and seeing Partizan's keeper palm his header against the woodwork before forcing the rebound home. Next Sami Nasri's corner was headed in by Squillaci and Fabianski brilliantly saved a penalty from Cleo following Kieran Gibbs's foul on Ivan Stevanovic before superbly repelling Sasa Ilic's goal-bound shot. "I'm happy for him, he just needed confidence," said Wenger, who "does not know" which of his goalkeepers will play at Stamford Bridge on Sunday. Whoever starts, the suspicion is that Chelsea may need to be at their very best.