Arsenal win but finish second
Wenger's side had to be content finishing as runners-up
Wednesday, 12, Dec 2007 10:44
Arsenal finished second in their Champions League qualifying group despite a 2-1 win over Steaua Bucharest at the Emirates Stadium.
Abou Diaby and Nicklas Bendtner scored both goals for the Gunners in the first half and although Steaua reduced the deficit midway through the second period Arsene Wenger's men were too strong.
Diaby scored the first goal after eight minutes following Bacaray Sagna's cross and Bendtner calmly slotted the ball past Robinson Zapata after Robin van Persie had unlocked the Steaua defence.
Unfortunately for the north London side their hopes of finishing top of the group were denied by Sevilla who beat Slavia Prague 3-0.
The Gunners will now face either defending champions AC Milan, Inter Milan, Real Madrid, Barcelona or Porto in the first knockout stage of the competition.
Elsewhere, in group F Manchester United's match against Roma was overshadowed by clashes between the two sets of supporters outside the stadium.
On the pitch the teams played out a meaningless 1-1 draw with both sides already assured of a place in the last 16 of the competition.
Alex Ferguson had chosen to rest many of his star players but his young side kept the Italians at bay for much of the game.
United took the lead just before the break when Gerard Pique headed home a corner at the front post.
Alessandro Mancini levelled the game midway through the second half following a neat pass by Mirko Vucinic.
Vucinic nearly scored a winner but saw his effort come back off the post having beaten Tomasz Kuszczak.