Arsenal 2-2 Paris St-Germain

Arsenal have made it past the group stages for the 14th consecutive season

Arsenal face a struggle to finish top of their Champions League group after they were held to a draw by Paris St-Germain at Emirates Stadium.

The Gunners were seeking the win that would put them in pole position in Group A after years of finishing second and six consecutive eliminations in the last 16 in the knockout phase.

And it looked like Arsenal were on their way despite going behind early on to Edinson Cavani's sliding finish from Blaise Matuidi's cross.

Olivier Giroud scored from a penalty just before half-time after Grzegorz Krychowiak fouled Alexis Sanchez. And Arsenal were ahead on the hour when a penalty-box rebound struck Marco Verratti and flew in.

PSG were always dangerous and Lucas' header, which took a touch off Alex Iwobi, gave them a fully-deserved equaliser 13 minutes from time.

Cavani then missed two good chances and although Arsenal and PSG are level on points, the French champions have the advantage on head-to-head away goals with one round of games left after a 1-1 draw between the teams in Paris earlier in the group.

• Relive Wednesday's Champions League action

Arsenal looking at second again

Arsenal's inability to top their Champions League group has cost them dearly as they have failed to get past the last 16 in the past six years - and they now face the same fate again.

The odds now seem stacked in favour of Unai Emery's side, but the side that finishes top could yet end up facing the likes of Real Madrid or Bayern Munich.

"I believe we have the quality and the spirit on the bench now" - Arsene Wenger

PSG face Ludogorets at home in their final game, the team Arsenal beat 6-0 at Emirates Stadium, while Wenger's side travel to Basel.

There is still an opportunity for late twists but it is starting to look like second again after this enthralling draw.

They will be entering familiar territory after reaching the last 16 every season in the Champions League's current format, which has been in existence since 2003-04.

Arsenal have suffered in finishing second. Those exits at the last-16 stage in the past six seasons have included two losses to Barcelona, two to Bayern Munich and one each to AC Milan and Monaco.

Gunners' resilience on show

Arsenal may not have been at their best here but they once again showed the resilience that manager Arsene Wenger believes is starting to become their trademark.

Wenger hinted at this new-found strength in his programme notes, written after they grabbed a late point at Manchester United in the Premier League.

He said: "We were resilient, we came back and we've done that many times this season. I believe we have the quality and the spirit on the bench now and that combination makes us remarkably resilient until the last minute."

Arsenal were outplayed until they got a penalty in first-half injury time and while they hardly sparkled in the second half they at least dug deep to earn a point that could yet prove vital.

Cavani has scored eight goals in his 14 Champions League matches against English sides

Cavani bails Arsenal out

Cavani has forged a reputation as one of the world's most formidable strikers - and he was on target here again when he slid in to turn home Matuidi's cross to put PSG ahead after 18 minutes.

The Uruguayan's runs into space are magical but he could have made Arsenal's plight much worse with two glaring second half misses, one when he broke clear and went for a Hollywood chipped finish that David Ospina saved, and a point-blank header he directed wide from Lucas' cross.

Cavani has the record of a quality player - but he let Arsenal off the hook.

Man of the match - Lucas (PSG)

The Brazilian was PSG's brightest player and could have put his team 2-1 up only for his wonderful free-kick to hit the crossbar. His leveller was reward for his tireless performance

The stats you need to know

• This was the first time a Champions League match finished with more goals than shots on target since Rangers vs Unirea Urziceni in October 2009

• Only Lionel Messi (18) has scored more goals than Cavani (16) in all competitions among players in the big five European leagues this season

• Olivier Giroud's penalty was Arsenal's first shot of any kind in the match

• Giroud has scored with nine of his past 11 shots on target for Arsenal in all competitions, having scored with just two of his 22 before that

• Arsenal are unbeaten in their four meetings with PSG, though three have ended in draws (W1)

• PSG have failed to keep a clean sheet in their past 10 games against English clubs

• Arsenal have scored 14 goals in the group stages so far - only in 2010-11 (15) have they scored more in their opening five Champions League group games

What next?

Arsenal return to Premier League action on Sunday when they host Bournemouth at Emirates Stadium in a match that starts at 14:15 GMT.