COPENHAGEN, May 17 (Reuters) - Galatasaray became the first
Turkish club to win a European soccer trophy when they beat
Arsenal 4-1 on penalties after the UEFA Cup final finished
goalless following 120 minutes of unrelenting tension on
Wednesday. Galatasaray overcame the loss of their influential
playmaker Gheorghe Hagi, who was sent off for hitting Arsenal
skipper Tony Adams in the 93rd minute, to win the final wich saw
both teams miss golden opportunities. In the end Galatasaray won
in the shootout when Gheorghe Popescu, Hagi's brother-in-law,
lashed in the decisive penalty after Davor Suker and Patrick Vieira
had both hit the woodwork with their kicks.  It was the second time
in five years that Arsenal's fate had been sealed in a European final
by a player who was formerly with their arch-rivals Tottenham Hotspur.
Nayim, once of Spurs, scored Real Zaragoza's winning goal in the 1995
European Cup Winners Cup final, Arsenal's last appearance in a European
final before Wednesday.  The shoot-out tipped Galatasaray's way whe
Ergun Penbe scored the opening penalty and Suker hit Claudio Taffarel's
left-hand post. Hakan Sukur, Umit Davala and then Popescu all scored
or Galatasaray while Ray Parlour was the only Arsenal player to score from
the spot.  Arsenal, who won the 1994 European Cup Winners' Cup at the
same Parken Stadium, started the match better but Galatasaray, with Hagi
a huge influence, gradually fought their way back and had two great chances
to score on either side of halftime. The first came when Arif Erdem shot wide
with only David Seaman to beat and the second when Sukur hit a post after
48 minutes. Arsenal also had their chances -- the best of which fell to
Thierry Henry in the 107th minute when he seemed set to score what would
have been the golden goal winner -- only to be denied by a brilliant point-blank
save by Taffarel, who was named Man of the Match afterwards. It is the second
time Arsenal have lost a European final on penalties following their defeat by
Valencia in the 1980 European Cup Winners' Cup final, which also finished
goalless. There were no major disturbances in the ground after a day
of violence between opposing fans in the centre of Copenhagen.