So much for dreams of the treble. Facing their final Champions League group hurdle, Arsenal refused in sight of the quarter-finals on a night of utter frustration in Turin.

Where Manchester United and Liverpool had led the way in qualifying for the last eight the previous evening, the Gunners failed to follow and, in the end, they did not even come close.

In one sense, the Gunners only had themselves to blame in that they failed to gain a point away to a virtual reserve Juventus side as Thierry Henry missed a penalty and a host of other chances back at his former club ground.

Last season, Arsenal performed just as badly as they lost away to Bayern Munich at the same stage but were saved by results elsewhere.

This time, however, there was no redemption as Bayer Leverkusen not only avoided defeat away to Deportivo La Coruna but they triumphed 3-1 and thereby topped the group.

La Coruna were already through and showed it with their team-sheet as eight players were left out from the side which won 2-0 at Highbury last week.

But while there was momentary hope as substitute Diego Tristan made the scoreline 2-1 in Spain, Oliver Neuville rounded off the scoring late on.

And, by that stage, Arsenal were already losing themselves against a similarly depleted Juventus side as Marcelo Zalayeta had struck from a corner.

The FA Cup - with a quarter-final replay against Newcastle looming on Saturday - and the Barclaycard Premiership remain but heads will be low in the Arsenal camp after this loss.

Their fortunes had fallen out of their own control due to a last-minute equaliser by Leverkusen in Germany as well as that second defeat to Deportivo last week.

But amid an eerie atmosphere in the Stadio delle Alpi, with the 70,000-capacity stadium about one-tenth full due to the lack of interest among the local public in their already-eliminated team, they simply failed to shine when it mattered most.

The atmosphere was akin to that of a pre-season friendly and so was their performance.

Henry received his first sight of goal on 22 minutes as he sped onto Fredrik Ljungberg's through-ball only to prod his shot wide. It was a foretaste of what was to come.

With Patrick Vieira booked for the third time in the competition and earning a one-game ban, Arsenal continued to concentrate on balls over the top as their options down the flanks were restricted.

Ljungberg was the next to race onto one of these chipped through-balls but his ensuing fall as he attempted to go round stand-in keeper Fabian Carini, who had a superb game, did not earn, or indeed deserve, a penalty.

There was an escape for the visitors when Tomas Guzman played fired just wide but their luck did not last long as news filtered through that Michael Ballack had scored in Spain.

Arsenal could only attempt to concentrate on their own game but while Enzo Maresca's attempt went narrowly wide, Robert Pires came even closer as he shaved the far post.

Even when the Gunners won a penalty shortly after the break, with Henry brought down by Cristian Zenoni as he headed away from goal, still their fortunes did not change.

Henry, who had also been denied from the spot against Deportivo last Tuesday night, saw his effort saved again.

If that was not bad enough, much worse was to follow.

While Bernd Schneider scrambled the ball home for Leverkusen's second goal, a host of chances came and went for Arsenal in Turin.

Henry floated one shot wide from a tight angle, sent a free-kick over the crossbar and saw both Edu and Vieira also come close.

While Deportivo substitute Diego Tristan pulled a goal back in Spain, Arsenal succumbed themselves just a minute later in Turin.

Still the Gunners would not give up. Still they could not score. Ljungberg was denied by a superb save from Carini, while Henry's cross-shot went wide and although Neuville scored in Spain, Arsenal's fate had already effectively been sealed.

Yet again, they had failed to perform away in Europe. This time, they had paid the ultimate price.

Teams:

Juventus: Carini, Zenoni, Birindelli, Iuliano, Paramatti (Pessotto 24), Zambrotta (Amoruso 70), Conte, Maresca, Davids, Guzman (Pericard 61), Zalayeta.

Subs Not Used: Rampulla, Ferrara, Scardina, Maietta.

Booked: Davids, Pessotto.

Goals: Zalayeta 76.

Arsenal: Seaman, Lauren (Cole 82), Campbell, Luzhny, Dixon, Pires, Edu (Wiltord 79), Vieira, Ljungberg, Henry, Kanu.

Subs Not Used: Wright, Grimandi, Inamoto, Tavlaridis, Aliadiere.

Booked: Vieira.

Att: 8,562

Ref: K Nilsson (Sweden).