The atmosphere inside the stadium had been building from early on in the evening, and a vocal contingent from Chelsea were making ourselves heard.

And it was the Blues who were on top in the early stages of this high-stakes encounter, and were desperately lucky not to score when Alyssa Thompson and Lauren James struck the post one after the other within the opening ten minutes of the contest.

This was two elite sides going hammer and tongs against each other, and Arsenal then took their opportunity when Stina Blackstenius headed in from Katie McCabe's free kick. Chelsea were left reeling when Chloe Kelly's shot from outside the box put the Gunners two goals in front, and also had a Veerle Buurman goal disallowed before the half-time whistle blew.

Although 2-0 down, it never felt like we were out of the contest, and James proved that when she unleashed a magnificent solo effort into the back of the net to pull a goal back for the Blues.

Yet the drama was not over, and the home side scored a third through Alessia Russo, before Kadeisha Buchanan had a goal disallowed late on for a foul on the goalkeeper. Just as we did against Manchester City last season, we take a two-goal deficit back to the Bridge next week in the hope we can repeat that comeback.

Woodwork struck

Sonia Bompastor made five alterations to the team which started against London City Lionesses on Saturday, bringing in Sandy Baltimore, Lucy Bronze, Buchanan, Naomi Girma and James.

Ellie Carpenter was a surprise addition to the bench, having only just returned from Australia following her appearance in the Asian Cup final on Saturday.

And after having to defend some Arsenal pressure in the early minutes of the match, the Blues struck the woodwork twice in two minutes. The first attempt came from Thompson after she scored at the Emirates back in November, the American curling an attempt onto the far post.

The Blues supporters thought we had breached Arsenal's defences when James opened up the space with some incredible ball work before firing in a sublime shot onto the same left-hand post that her team-mate had struck just beforehand.

Defences breached

Down at the other end, Alessia Russo pulled the trigger just inside the penalty area, but Veerle Buurman was there to block the shot and deflect the ball behind for a corner.

After our big early chances, it was the home side who opened the scoring. McCabe curled in a free-kick from just outside the box, and Blackstenius headed into the bottom corner of Hannah Hampton's goal.

With half an hour gone, the home side doubled their lead when Kelly's whipped shot from outside the box took an awkward bobble and flew into the back of the net.

Goal disallowed

As half-time approached, Buurman had the ball in the back of the net when she rose highest with a header at the far post, but the referee ruled out the goal for a push, and VAR confirmed the decision.

Chelsea came out unchanged in the second half, and the action immediately resumed. Hampton made a save from Russo before James tested Borbe when she twisted and turned into a shooting position on the left-hand side, only for the goalkeeper to gather her shot from a tight angle.

Bompastor switched Girma for Rytting Kaneryd, and the Swedish international soon made an impact, linking up well with James down the right and then winning a corner after a battle with Taylor Hinds.

Pulled one back

But Chelsea were simply not willing to lie down. Our goal came courtesy of our number 10, who waited outside the penalty area while we took a corner.

When the ball came out to James, her body language was nonchalant. She took a touch before curling in a sensational effort into the top corner to halve the deficit on the night, and it was a truly special solo effort from the talented forward.

Tough blow

Just as it seemed like we were getting back into the game, Arsenal struck again. After a fast break, Blackstenius was able to square the ball across the box for an onrushing Russo, who finished low into the bottom corner.

Still Chelsea pressed to grab another goal. Borbe had to be alive to the danger of James once more when the Blues forward delivered another strike from distance, and when the 'keeper had tipped the attempt around the post, she had to catch again from Sjoeke Nusken.

There was more drama to come in stoppage time when Buchanan had the ball in the back of the net, but we once again had a goal ruled out as the referee ruled that the defender had committed a foul on the goalkeeper.

Although it ended in defeat, Chelsea can take confidence from the way we performed and have a further chance to go again next week in front of our own fans.

What it means...

The Blues will need to overcome tonight's two-goal deficit when we face the Gunners once more in the second leg at Stamford Bridge next Wednesday.

What comes next...

Our focus returns to Women's Super League matters as we take on Aston Villa at Kingsmeadow on Sunday lunchtime.

The teams

Chelsea: Hampton, Buurman, Nusken, Cuthbert (c) (Kaptein 82), James, Thompson, Girma (Rytting Kaneryd 57), Baltimore, Bronze, Buchanan, Walsh
Unused subs: Peng, Spencer, Carpenter, Potter, Sarwie, Storey, Shooter
Scorers: James 66
Booked: James 28

Arsenal: Borbe, Fox, Wubben-Moy, Codina (Hinds h-t), McCabe, Little (c), Caldentey (Pelova 90), Russo, Mead (Holmberg 78), Kelly (Smith 60), Blackstenius (Maanum 78)
Unused subs: Votikova, van Domselaar, Harwood
Scorers: Blackstenius 22, Kelly 32, Russo 76
Booked: Codina 35

Referee: Alina Pesu