كتب : Sherif Tarek
Silvestre Varela broke the deadlock on 11 minutes with a cross-come-shot, before Sol Campbell brought the score level eight minutes later with a close-range header.
The Gunners' defender and keeper were caught napping by Radamel Falcao, who scored from an indirect free kick from inside the penalty area.
Both teams will face each other again in the second leg on March 9th.