Arsene Wenger was sent to the stands as an under-strength Arsenal side slipped to their first defeat of the season against Sevilla.

Arsenal took the lead through Eduardo da Silva, but goals from Seydou Keita and Luis Fabiano put Sevilla 2-1 up at half-time, and Frederic Kanoute sealed the win with a late penalty. In the other Group H game, Slavia Prague secured UEFA Cup qualification with a 1-1 draw at Steaua Bucharest.

Despite being without a host of first-choice players at the Estadio Ramon Sanchez Pijuan, Arsenal settled quickly into their familiar passing rhythm and with barely ten minutes on the clock they were ahead.

Eduardo brought down Nicklas Bendtner's cross from the right and held off a rather clumsy challenge from Daniel Alves before directing the ball past Andres Palop.

But Sevilla's response was immediate. The visitors were quickly on the back foot and with twenty-three minutes gone the scores were tied.

Gilberto Silva could only divert Jesus Navas's low cross to the edge of the box, and Keita drove the ball into the roof of the net with the outside of his left foot.

Arsenal looked shell-shocked, and Gilberto Silva was grateful to Kolo Toure for a superb challenge on Luis Fabiano after he had given the ball away with a sloppy square pass.

But the home side didn't have long to wait for a second goal. Ten minutes later Navas won a free-kick wide on the right, and Luis Fabiano rose to meet Alves's cross with a powerful header past Almunia.

Committed challenges from both sides sparked a series of flare-ups throughout the game, and Arsenal right-back Justin Hoyte was lucky to avoid punishment after an ugly stamp on Adriano just before half-time.

It could easily have been three before the break, but when Luis Fabiano's fierce shot was pushed out to the edge of the box by Almunia, Kanoute could only put his shot wide.

Manolo Jimenez's men kept up the pressure in the second half, and Luis Fabiano twice had a chance to seal the game before referee Eric Braamhaar sparked mass confusion by appearing to award a penalty for a hand-ball by the cumbersome Philippe Senderos, only to change his mind following a chat with his linesman.

The strain was all too much for Arsene Wenger, and with ten minutes left he was sent to the stands for arguing with Braamhaar during a break in play.

His misery was compounded a minute before the end, as Sevilla were awarded a penalty for Toure's foul on Kanoute.

The former Spurs man picked himself up to coolly slide the ball past Almunia, and guarantee Sevilla's progress to the knockout stages.

Steaua Bucharest 1-1 Slavia Prague

Rock-bottom of Group H with four matches played, Steaua Bucharest took an early lead against Slavia Prague after an enterprising start characterised by some fine football.

The influential Nicolae Dica played a cute ball into the box which Valentin Badea pursued, and as the two centre halves converged he got a gentle touch to the ball which sent it past Martin Vaniak.

While the Czech stopper hardly covered himself in glory with his efforts to prevent the opening goal, he kept his side in the match with a tremendous save ten minutes before half-time.

Badea met Dica's cross with a close-range volley at the back post, but Vaniak spread himself and managed to deflect the ball over the bar with his legs.

Slavia Prague applied themselves with greater vigour after the break, but they had little to show for it in a second half littered with niggly fouls and wasted dead-ball opportunities.

The visitors saw David Hubacek, Matej Krajcik and substitute Ondrej Sourek go into the book in quick succession and appeared to be running out of ideas, but with just over ten minutes remaining they found an equaliser.

Zdenek Senkerik was given the freedom of the Steaua penalty area as he attacked a right-wing cross, and he made no mistake with a powerful header that flew past Robinson Zapata.

Steaua had most of the play as the game ticked towards its conclusion, but it is they who will be most disappointed by a result that condemns them to fourth place in Group H and puts Slavia Prague into the UEFA Cup.

Tom Williams / Eurosport