And Ars? Wenger could rightly point to a wretched goalkeeping error by Jens Lehmann (he committed two others the last time he played on this ground for Borussia Dortmund) and a late rally which saw the outstanding Kolo Tour?trike the woodwork.But a draw would have been fortunate. It rained all day in the Ukrainian capital and in the evening Arsenal were simply washed away by a vibrant and powerful Dynamo side. And with the defeat, more comprehensive than the scoreline would suggest, their Champions’ League hopes were all but extinguished – although Internazionale’s crushing loss in Moscow leaves Group B more bunched than expected.
In truth, the Premiership side now probably have to win their final three games to stand any chance – and they have not won at all in Europe since that encounter in Rome last November – a run now of eight frustrating matches. The statistics are a damning enough indictment although Arsenal at least avoided becoming the only team out of 32 in this year’s competition not to have scored with Thierry Henry’s 27th European goal.Afterwards both managers spoke of luck – Arsenal’s lack of it, and Dynamo’s ability to exploit theirs.

Last night they were destroyed themselves in the precipitation of Kiev. The last time Arsenal played in a city built on seven hills it was in the evisceration of Roma. Substitutes not used: Harper (gk), Lua-Lua, Caldwell, Viana.Referee: B Knight (Orpington) 7.. But, despite rumblings about unrest in the dressing room, Robson’s men had also arrived with a record of five clean sheets in their last six games.That comforting statistic was soon devalued when Clark who left St James’ Park in 1997, opened the scoring with a left-footed cross-shot following a pull back by Steed Malbranque. Clark, who made a point of applauding the visiting supporters after the match, refrained from jubilation.And when Sylvain Legwinski’s long free kick was chested down by Saha, who turned past his marker and hammered home a shot from 15 yards out, it seemed that Newcastle, all in grey, were playing like ghosts. By the end of the night, however, they had shown they were body and soul behind their inspired, and inspiring, manager.Fulham (4-5-1): Van der Sar 5; Leacock 6, Goma 4, Knight 4, Bonnissel 5; Buari 5, Legwinski 6, Clark 6, Pembridge 5, Malbranque 7; Saha 7. Substitutes not used: Crossley (gk), Melville, Inamoto, Hayles, Djetou.Newcastle United (4-4-2): Given 6; Hughes 5, O’Brien 7, Bramble 4, Bernard 6; Bowyer 7, Jenas 7, Speed 5, Robert 7 (Ambrose, 87); Ameobi 7, Shearer 8.

After a period of sustained Newcastle pressure, the climax arrived in the space of six minutes as Shearer turned his side’s superiority into tangible reward.After 50 minutes Shearer scored calmly from the spot after Alain Goma had brought down Shola Ameobi, and six minutes later, following a neatly prodded pass through the defensive cover by Jermaine Jenas, he beat the Fulham keeper, Edwin van der Sar, to the ball and drove a shot into the roof of the net.Newcastle had arrived minus Norberto Solano – left behind after walking out on the team following his non-selection for Saturday’s 1-0 win at Middlesbrough – and, due to minor injuries, Kieron Dyer and Andy Griffin. “We had fine performances from a lot of the players, but Shearer was awesome, quite magnificent He may be in his 33rd year but he has kept his fitness. The goals were only part of the story.”The story began after a quarter of an hour when the former England player – watched from the stands by the England manager, Sven Goran Eriksson – played in Laurent Robert with a one-two which allowed the Frenchman to reduce the deficit. Sir Bobby Robson’s side recovered from being 2-0 down after seven minutes to earn a second away win in four days.
The match began half an hour late because of a controlled explosion following a security alert near Loftus Road, but former Newcastle players Lee Clark and Louis Saha wasted no time in putting the home side into a seemingly commanding position, scoring a goal each in the space of a minute.