For all their dominance in the Barclaycard Premiership, Arsenal are finding that the door to European success is proving rather more difficult to unlock.

Faced with the effervescence of youth in the form of Ajax's new generation of young stars, the Gunners failed to impose their greater experience as the Champions League second group stage resumed.

Sylvain Wiltord may have given Arsenal a perfect start with an early strike, but the Gunners had soon succumbed to an equaliser from Nigel de Jong.

Indeed, with a richly-talented Ajax side refusing to buckle in the face of the ensuing second-half pressure, the signs are now that this group stage could go to the last game away to Valencia.

With three games still remaining and Arsenal unbeaten, there is no cause for boots to start flying around the Highbury dressing-room just yet.

However, while Arsene Wenger's side were undone by their Champions League away form last season, this time it is Highbury which has so far shackled them.

They have now failed to win any of their past four European home games and their trip to Amsterdam next week is far from being a formality.

All this even though Arsenal hit top gear with just five minutes gone as they struck Ajax on the break at full pace.

Patrick Vieira slipped the ball to Dennis Bergkamp and the Dutchman, himself a product of the famed Ajax youth academy, bided his time before slotting his pass into the path of the on-rushing Wiltord.

The Frenchman cut inside before guiding his shot into the far corner and that should have been the cue for a comfortable victory.

However, the Gunners were then guilty of a lapse in concentration which transformed the course of the entire game.

Ashley Cole tried to intercept a long cross-field pass, but missed the ball and that allowed de Jong the time to take a touch before firing a left-footed drive past the exposed figure of David Seaman.

The equaliser gave Ajax the self-belief to play the ball around with increasing authority, with Steven Pienaar's bustling midfield presence proving a constant menace to his more illustrious opponents.

Arsenal wasted the half-chances which they did manage to create as Robert Pires curled one effort wide, ballooned another over the bar and just failed to connect with the rebound after Thierry Henry's shot had been parried.

The home side had a further problem to worry about at the interval, with Seaman forced off with a hip injury, bringing on Stuart Taylor.

His opposite number, Bogdan Lobont had more immediate worries though, just managing to recover in time from a sliding tackle on Bergkamp to deny Gilberto at the far post.

Ajax were now starting to live rather more dangerously.

Gilberto threatened again, with his deflected effort skimming the bar, while Bergkamp struck the post, but Arsenal were still having trouble in breaking down the Dutch side's determined resistance.

On came Francis Jeffers for Gilberto, meaning that Pires switched into central midfield and Bergkamp out onto the right flank.

A handling error by Lobont almost let in Jeffers, but frustration levels were still growing, with Henry attempting an over-ambitious over-head kick rather than looking for support.

Indeed, Ajax came close to snatching a late winner themselves, with substitute Nourdin Boukhari seeing the ball squirm just wide after making contact with his thigh from close range.

Pires was denied by Lobont in injury-time but, with full credit to Ajax, this was far from the confident display by Arsenal which had just overcome Manchester United at Old Trafford.

Time is still clearly on their side, but Tony Blair is not alone in having difficulty in making things go his way in Europe.

Teams

Arsenal: Seaman (Taylor 45), Lauren, Campbell, Cygan, Cole, Wiltord, Silva (Jeffers 72), Vieira, Pires, Bergkamp (Kanu 84), Henry.

Subs Not Used: Parlour, van Bronckhorst, Edu, Stepanovs.

Booked: Pires.

Goals: Wiltord 5.

Ajax: Lobont, Trabelsi, Chivu, Pasanen, Van Damme (Witschge 76), Pienaar (Yakubu 90), Galasek, De Jong, Maxwell, Van der Meyde, Ibrahimovic (Boukhari 78).

Subs Not Used: Didulica, Bergdolmo, Sneijder, Seedorf.

Booked: Pasanen, Lobont, Boukhari.

Goals: De Jong 17.

Att: 35,427

Ref: C Cortez Batista (Portugal).