ARSENAL finished with only a Dennis Bergkamp goal to sustain them for a tricky trip to Northern France in two weeks, as the dream of an all-English UEFA Cup Final receded alarmingly at Highbury as well as in Istanbul.

The Gunners grabbed some measure of revenge against Lens, the team who destroyed their Champions League ambitions at Wembley 17 months ago, but the Tricolour raised in North London at the end of a scrappy semi-final first leg had little to do with Arsenal's Gallic trio of Patrick Vieira, Emmanuel Petit and Gilles Grimandi.

Instead it was the symbol of a notable triumph by the visitors, who absorbed the body blow of Dutch ace Bergkamp's sensational early opener to ride out a storm and reduce Arsene Wenger's team to ragged ordinariness. And with Leeds going down 2-0 to Galatasaray there is much work to do for both Premiership giants in a fortnight's time.

Bergkamp lit up Highbury with just 95 seconds on the old South Stand clock, striding between defenders Ferdinand Coly and Eric Sikora to latch onto Petit's piercing 30-yard pass and dodge the wildly on-rushing Guillaume Warmuz before half-volleying into the vacant net with the confident air only a master craftsman can muster.

And with Lens seemingly still caught up in the confusion of a hopelessly mismanaged minute's silence in respect of tragic Leeds fans before the kick-off, Arsenal swarmed all over them and could have had the tie wrapped up in the first 15 minutes.

That they didn't became a dragging millstone around their necks as all signs of inventiveness faded in a scrappy second half which ended with Arsenal hanging onto their narrow advantage and grateful that a thundering free-kick by full back Eric Sikora landed on the outside of the net in stoppage time with goalkeeper David Seaman rooted to his line.

It looked a stroll for Wenger's men in the opening 20 minutes but the effect their attacking dominance was diluted by some sketchy work at the back and two headers from Kanu, saved by Warmuz, following delicious crosses by Marc Overmars and Silvinho.

When the lanky Nigerian produced a cunning cut-back from the right, it took three Lens defenders to scrape it away from Bergkamp in the six-yard box. Winger Phillippe Brunel then sent Bergkamp crashing just inside the box after Kanu weaved more of his leggy magic, but Austrian referee Gunter Benko benevolently ruled it an accident.

After Overmars produced a tame finish straight at Warmuz when picked out in the box by a delightful Petit chip in the 17th minute, some of the uncertainty spread to Arsenal's back line and they could have done with the absent Tony Adams to sort it out.

Stand-in skipper Lee Dixon slipped trying to clear Charles Coridon's low cross, leaving Brunel with time and room to size up a shot from the corner of the area - but he blazed wildly over. Then Grimandi's poor touch let in Coridon again and he pushed on menacingly into the six-yard box before a combination of Martin Keown and Silvinho crowded him out. The Brazilian also had to make a remarkable recovery tackle on the half hour to rob lone striker Pascal Nouma on the edge of the area, after another unconvincing Arsenal block.

It gave Lens the encouragement to come back into the game before the interval, when Arsenal could have done with the finishing power of suspended 19-goal marksman Thierry Henry, their fourth and most deadly French musketeer, to add that vital extra degree of security.

They will be glad to have him back for the second leg if they are to make the final journey to Copenhagen on May 17 where six years ago they won the Cup Winners Cup under George Graham with that famous 1-0 scoreline six years ago.

Lens who have defied their unimpressive French League form - 12th in the table - with a notable collection of UEFA Cup scalps including Spanish pair Atletico Madrid and Celta Vigo as well as a 4-1 win in Germany over Kaiserslautern, the conquerors of Spurs, produced some of their European form once they had survived that hectic start.

And with the tireless Coridon providing admirable support for Nouma on the occasional counter-raid, Arsenal were searching hard for a little more inspiration to extend their narrow lead in the second half.

Kanu and Bergkamp conjured up a few tricks - although the one by the Dutchman which got him booked for pulling Coridon slyly back by the arm was a foolish one - but with Overmars beginning to tire badly, Arsenal lacked the real searing pace it required to really stretch Lens' crowded defence, A glorious chance went begging in the 70th minute when Overmars, who has not scored since December, flipped the ball over the angle of post and bar after meeting Parlour's sizzling low cross from the right.

And Arsenal almost paid a massive price for that miss when a lightning Lens break within a minute saw Brunel feed in a lovely low ball for Nouma to crash against the crossbar - and leave the Highbury fans gasping.

A new input was badly needed and Freddie Ljungberg came on for Overmars seconds later. But it was Lens, despite lacking the midfield power of injured former Everton star Olivier Dacourt and two suspended centre backs, who finished the stronger.

Davor Suker, who came on as an 83rd-minute substitute for Bergkamp, had a fierce low shot saved at the near post by Warmuz, but in the end it was Arsenal who were relieved to hear the final whistle after bookings for Keown and Petit reflected their desperation.