Tony Adams and Martin Keown, the pillars of Arsenal's famously rock-like defence came up with the finishing touches that their strikers could not deliver.

The Gunners finally turned Wembley into a magical European arena and put their first Champions League win on the board after breaking down the stubborn Greeks of Panathinaikos.

Just when Arsene Wenger's team looked to be heading for another of the goalless draws that has blighted the early stages of their defence of the Premiership title and a familiar glut of scoring chances had passed them by, centre backs Adams and Keown made full use of a couple of Emmanuel Petit's inswinging corners to wrap up the points.

Skipper Adams, who had missed badly in only the second minute with an unchallenged header, was up with his increasingly frustrated attack again in the 64th minute. Adams drove the ball in after Keown's beefy challenge had unsettled Polish goalkeeper Josef Wandzik to the point that he dropped the ball at the feet of Patrick Vieira who unselfishly set it up for his captain.

The award of the corner was debatable, with Remi Garde seeming to get the last touch to Nicolas Anelka's cross, but Arsenal players and the majority of the 73,455 crowd didn't care about that - and certainly not when Keown applied a delicate glancing header to net another Petit corner eight minutes later.

It was only the fourth Arsenal goal for Keown in 243 appearances and it effectively settled the contest.

And yet Arsenal, in time-honoured tradition, just could not coast comfortably to their hard-earned success. Three minutes from time Brazilian substitute Mauro headed in - from yet another corner - to give Panathinaikos a glimmer of hope.

Tired Arsenal legs just held out long enough to claim the victory and top place in Group E with Ukrainian favourites, Dynamo Kiev managing only a draw at home against French champions Lens.

But the downside was a late booking for the otherwise splendid Vieira who will now be banned from the Wembley clash with Kiev on October 21.

Petit was also booked and will have to watch his step in that game but for the moment Arsenal can celebrate a twin success - not only a winning night but a bumper gate as big as any at Highbury even when, decades before the Lord Justice Taylor report they used to crammed in the fans on to the terraces.

But Wembley's all-seater support was a seething mass of Gunners' frustration at half time and not just because the kick off was delayed 25 minutes by chaotic scenes outside the stadium caused by public transport problems and clogged roads across north London.

Familiar failings in front of goal soon surfaced. Arsenal could easily have been three ahead and strolling it by the end of the first quarter-hour as Vieira, Overmars and Anelka led a dynamic opening burst who reduced the Panathinaikos defence to rubble.

Anelka was pulled down in utter desperation by Ioannis Goumas five yards outside the area in only the second minute and when Dennis Bergkamp floated the freekick to the far post Adams was left unmarked.

He looked certain to score one of his trademark diving headers, but put it back across the face of the goal and wide instead.

Five minutes later Anelka's burning pace took him past Goumas on the right and on to Vieira's through-ball, but his attempt to cut in shoot inside the near post was blocked by goalkeeper Wandzik.

The Greeks hardly had time to draw breath before Overmars delightfully turned Kostas Kiassos inside out and fed Petit who instantly put the ball into Nigel Winterburn's intelligent run into the box only for the full back to stab wide.

It was 19 minutes before Panathinaikos managed a shot, Nikos Liberopoulos driving over, but the Andreas Lagonikakis tried his luck from distance, forcing David Seaman to turn the ball over for a corner.

And as the Greeks began to show ominous signs of settling Liberopoulos was only just too high with an improvised half-volley as Winterburn and Keown were caught flat-footed by Strandli's perceptive pass.

But the pressure was soon back on them, producing two more gilt-edged openings before the interval. Bergkamp, with his back to goal and tightly marked, still laid the ball perfectly for Overmars whose shot was blocked by Wandzik.

And when Anelka pounced on the rebound to power it back towards goal, Goumas somehow got back on the line to scrape it clear.

Such was the Panathinaikos industry that little Mykland, the non-stop Norwegian whose fans call The Mosquito, had also made it back to guard the goal just in case Vieira had put his shot in the other corner.

Bergkamp, though had no alibi apart from a desperate lack of confidence when Petit, breaking up a spasm of Panathinaikos pressure, sent the Dutchman galloping clear with an enormous long pass.

But with a defender biting at his heels, Bergkamp elected to shoot early and was wide of the mark, looking nothing like the striker who produced wonder-goals with an almost casual air last season.

Panathinaikos, wonderful winners against Kiev after being a goal down two weeks ago, had come looking for a draw but with theiur clever Croat midfielder Aljosa Asanovic - the former Derby County star - beginning to dictate the pace, their ambitions rose in the second half.

And when Adams, who has lifted the FA Cup three times at the famous old stadium which Arsenal have borrowed for their home games in Europe, finally made the breakthrough it was much needed.

Keown embellished it in great style and Overmars forced a superb save from Wandzik before Bergkamp missed again from his fellow Dutchman's neat set-up before Mauro's leap defeated Winterburn's challenge and left the virtually inactive Seaman groping.

But it was just a final reminder to the Gunners of how much some late lethargy had cost them in Lens two weeks ago and they battened down the hatches once more to claim their prize.

Teams

Arsenal: Seaman, Dixon, Winterburn, Vieira, Adams, Anelka, Bergkamp, Overmars, Keown, Petit, Garde (Vivas 79).

Subs Not Used: Manninger, Bould, Wreh, Hughes, Grimandi, Mendez.

Booked: Petit, Vieira.

Goals: Adams 64, Keown 72.

Panathinaikos: Wandzik, Apostolakis, Milojevic, Asanovic, Goumas, Lagonikakis, Mykland, Strandli (Sypniewski 83), Kostantinidis, Liberopoulos (Mauro 83), Kiassos (Kola 70).

Subs Not Used: Nikopolidis, Nikolidis, Kolitsidakis, Vokolos.

Booked: Milojevic, Goumas.

Goals: Mauro 87.

Att: 73,455

Ref: A Nieto-Lopez (Spain).