Arsenal's diligent, sweat-soaked effort and dour determination were not enough to match AC Milan's smooth artistry as the Italian champions claimed the European Super Cup with goals by Zvonimir Boban and Daniele Massaro at the San Siro stadium.
The Gunners, who gamely held the European champions to a goalless draw in the first leg at Highbury a week ago, had a goal disallowed in the second half when only one behind but then lost right back Lee Dixon through injury and almost immediately Massaro headed Milan's second goal from a Dejan Savicevic corner.
Ian Wright's strike into an empty net after 63 minutes from a Stefan Schwarz corner was ruled out by refere Helmuth Krug for pushing by Steve Bould who won the ball in the air from the flag kick, the German official right on the spot to make his decision.
Arsenal created a handful of half-chances and acquitted themselves fairly respectively but they clearly no longer have the qualities which earned them the Cup-Winners' Cup last May and Milan, who ended the Gunners' 14-match unbeaten run in Europe, looked different class.
There could have been no complaints had George Graham's team, who have won just three of their last 16 league games, ended the first half level against their star-studded hosts. David Seaman's athletic goalkeeping and Bould and Tony Adams' strength in central defence restricted Milan to few genuine opportunities.
But Arsenal were undone at a crucial stage four minutes before the break by Massaro's perfectly weighted through-ball which isolated Seaman from Adams and Bould, enabling Croatian striker Boban to run into space and deliver a clinical finish just inside the far post.
Having gone close with a smart first half effort by L2.5million striker John Hartson who turned Franco Baresi neatly before shooting just wide, Arsenal were good value for being level approaching the break even though their tackling was inhibited by a 13th minute yellow card against Bould for a second tackle from behind on slippery Savicevic.
Top scorer Wright also stung goalkeeper Sebastino Rossi's hands when pulling down Nigel Winterburn's cross and firing an instant drive from 15 yards, but Seaman was far busier than his counterpart, admirably knocking away Massaro's scorching cross-shot and safely clutching a well-struck free kick by Demetrio Albertini.
After Milan went ahead, Seaman had to distinguish himself again, turning a fierce drive by Roberto Donadoni around the post and there were anxious moments for Arsenal as Milan threatened to stretch their advantage in the opening minutes of the second half.
Dixon, injuring his back in a clash with Donadoni, went off on a stretcher in the 53rd minute and although back a few minutes later he was eventually replaced by Martin Keown.
By this time Massaro had a close-range blast blocked by battling Adams from Marcel Desailly's nimble knock down and Arsenal were struggling to stay afloat.
There seemed unexpected respite when Wright knocked the ball home in a rare attacking foray but when that was ruled out the game was suddenly decided by two quick incidents.
Dixon finally surrendered to his injury and before Keown could settle into his position Massaro outjumped Arsenal's defence to head home Savicevic's inswinging corner.
To their credit Arsenal did not settle for damage limitation after that and came forward looking to cut their arrears, but in the end were more than happy to see Massaro and Donadoni pass up further opportunities to underline Milan's superiority.
rsenal manager George Graham admitted his side suffered a chastening experience at the hands of Italian giants AC Milan in their 2-0 European Super Cup defeat at the San Siro stadium.
Graham said: "They have world class players and it was a lesson to us to see skilful individuals work hard both in possession and as a team when they haven't got the ball".
A disallowed Ian Wright goal, when Arsenal were just one behind in the second half, was a turning point in the match and seemed to mystify Graham but asked about the decision which seemed to be given for a push by Steve Bould, he said: "Only the referee can answer the question of why he disallowed it.
But Graham had no complaints about the result andsaid: "We showed them too much respect at times. We tried to defend in depth but Milan's forward movement was too good -- in fact, tremendous.
"I still think it's possible that an English team can compare favourably even with the Italians.
"Manchester United are the best we have in England and with their full team out I would be interested to see how they performed against this kind of quality."
Milan coach Fabio Capello generously praised Arsenal, saying: "They pressed in on us and gave us some problems particularly at the beginning but I think we played an excellent game and after I changed Boban's position he gave Arsenal a great deal of problems and things were much easier for us". He added: "I thought the supporters from England were marvellous for their team and gave them tremendous backing but our fans also responded well and encouraged us with their applause."
The 75,000 capacity San Siro was well under half full with just 23,953 spectators and Capello admitted this was due to the publicity generated from the recent incident in which a Genoa supporter was stabbed to death in a riot involving Milan fans.
He said: "In the circumstances it was not surprising to see the low attendance but the ones that came were very helpful to us.
"Arsenal had a goal disallowed but everyone has to accept these kind of decisions these days. Sometimes they go for you and sometimes not.
"We are about two months short of the form we should be producing but we are getting there and the club will continue to thrive while the players show this kind of attitude and will to win every trophy that is available.
"The older ones pass on their experiences to the younger players and we are still confident we will remain a top team in the months and seasons to come".
From Bill Pierce, PA Sport, Milan