Arsenal ................. 0 Fiorentina ................. 1
Arsenal's Champions League ambitions were finally extinguished on another disappointing Wembley night as Gabriel Batistuta punished them for missed chances.
The Argentinian's stylish winner in 75 minutes for Fiorentina sends the Italian side through to the last 16.
Arsene Wenger and his team had vowed to bounce back in typical style from their humiliation just a week ago against Barcelona and, in truth, they created just enough to have earned the victory in this winner-take-all showdown.
Wenger rued his side's missed chances and said: ''We made one mistake and were punished. We had the chances but didn't take them. It is very difficult to take considering the spirit and effort we have put in. Of course I can say we were unlucky but we have to be realistic. We didn't score and we didn't win.''
Arsenal fans' only cause for celebration is that they are going back to the their traditional home for the consolation prize of competing in the UEFA Cup.
The Italian club's aggressive intent was clear from the start when, after only three minutes Batistuta went in late on Lee Dixon and the full back needed prolonged treatment for knee and ankle injuries.
Batistuta could easily have been sent off for the offence - and in the end Arsenal were left wishing he had been.
In last night's other match in Group B, Barcelona's impressive form continued with a 5-0 demolition AIK Solna.
A double from Patrick Kluivert and further goals from Zenden, Gabri and Dehu saw the Spaniards sweep the Swedish champions aside with ease.
Arsenal - Seaman, Dixon, Keown, Adams, Winterburn, Parlour, Vieira, Petit, Overmars, Bergkamp, Kanu. Substitutes - Manninger, Vivas, Ljungberg, Suker, Henry, Silvinho, Upson.
Fiorentina - Toldo, Repka, Fircano, Heinrich, Pierlini, Di Livio, Rui Costa, Cois, Rossitto, Chiesa, Batistuta. Substitutes - Taglialatela, Adani, Amor, Mijatovic, Okon, Balbo, Bressan.
Referee - M Lubos (Slovakia).
Results and fixtures
UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
GROUP A
Lazio 1 (Nedved), Bayer Leverkusen 1 (Kirsten).
NK Maribor 1 (Balajic), Dynamo Kiev 2 (Rebrov 2, one pen).
PWDLFAPt
Lazio532012311
Dynamo Kiev5212877
Bayer Leverkusen5131776
Maribor51042123
Remaining matches: Tuesday, November 2
- Bayer Leverkusen v Maribor Teatanic, Dynamo Kiev v Lazio.
GROUP B
Arsenal 0, Fiorentina 1 (Batistuta).
Barcelona 5 (Kluivert 2, Zenden, Gabri, Dehu), AIK Stockholm 0.
PWDLFAPt
Barcelona541016613
Fiorentina5221648
Arsenal5122675
AIK Stockholm50142131
Remaining matches: Tuesday, November 2
- AIK Stockholm v Arsenal, Fiorentina v Barcelona.
GROUP C
Borussia Dortmund 1 (Addo), Feyenoord 1 (Van Vossen).
Rosenborg 2 (Berg, Dahlum), Boavista 0.
PWDLFAPt
Rosenborg532012411
Dortmund5131786
Feyenoord5050665
Boavista50233102
Remaining matches: Tuesday, November 2 - Boavista v Borussia Dortmund, Feyenoord v Rosenborg Trondheim.
GROUP D
Croatia Zagreb 1 (Prosinecki), Manchester United 2 (Beckham, Keane).
Sturm Graz 3 (Mahlich,Kocijan 2), Marseille 2 (Dugarry 2).
PWDLFAPt
Manchester Utd53117310
Marseille5302869
Sturm Graz52034106
Croatia Zagreb5113554
Remaining matches: Tuesday, November 2 - Manchester United v Sturm Graz, Olympique Marseille v Croatia Zagreb.
BANK OF SCOTLAND PREMIER LEAGUE
Celtic 0, Motherwell 1 (Twaddle).
Hearts 2 (Cameron, Juanjo), Kilmarnock 2 (MacPherson, Cocart).
St Johnstone 0, Dundee United 1 (Dodds).
FA CARLING PREMIERSHIP
Liverpool 1 (Camara), West Ham 0.
NATIONWIDE LEAGUE. DIVISION 1
Manchester City 1, Ipswich 0; Nottingham Forest 1, Bolton 1; QPR 2, Birmingham 2.
European Youth Championship - Scotland 2 (McCann 2), Armenia 1.
YOUTH LEAGUE
Cowdenbeath 4 (Waugh, Young, Mitchell, Smith), Forfar (Honeyman pen, George).
Hibernian 1, Airdrie 0.
Football today
SFA Youth Cup - Kilmarnock v Partick Thistle.
Youth League - Dunfermline v Stenhousemuir (Rosyth, 12.0).
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