A lovely goal from Silvinho, created by Henry, saw Arsenal take the lead in the second minute.

Spartak struck back on 28 minutes, and as the teams went in level at half time, Arsenal probably just about deserved to be ahead.

But in the second half Arsenal didn't look so keen, and 3 great finishes combined with some dodgy Arsenal defending sealed it for Spartak.

A loss isn't the end of the world, but a big loss such as this is on the way there. It makes it very likely that Spartak would finish above Arsenal, should the 2 teams finish level on points. Still, there's a long way to go yet. A win against Bayern in 2 weeks is clearly vital now.

Full reports etc to follow. See match reports page for our list of links to reports on other sites.

Bayern play Lyon later.