Arsene Wenger's team were physically and mentally exhausted by the end of one of the most highly-charged matches in the Emirates Stadium's six-season history
The body language of the two sets of players at the final whistle told nearly as much of a tale as the previous 90 minutes.
The outstanding Tomas Rosicky sank to the turf, lay on his back and stared at the full moon in the clear north London sky. Kieran Gibbs crouched down forlornly. Robin van Persie adopted the teapot pose, with both hands on hips, trying to take in the events of a barmy but unforgettable night.
By contrast, their Milan counterparts were simply relieved. There was little in the way of celebration. They shook hands with their opponents, traded a few shirts and headed off down the tunnel and into the Champions League quarter-finals.
The visitors knew they had been woeful, even though they hung in bravely during the second half as Arsenal ran out of steam. Van Persie’s decision to go for the cute chip over the goalkeeper rather than the precise sidefoot into the corner at 3-0 saved them from being on the wrong end of the greatest two-legged comeback in the history of either the European Cup or its modern incarnation, the Champions League.
Somewhat sheepishly, Milan stumble through by the skin of their teeth while Arsenal go out with heads held high and pride not so much restored but redoubled.
Despite the aggregate scoreline, this felt like a game when Arsenal's supporters fell back in love with their team. There was poison, not romance, in the air when they went 2-0 down against Tottenham nine days previously but the atmosphere throughout this against-the-odds quest was upbeat, partisan and thunderous.
The spontaneous celebrations at the end were unlike anything witnessed in the six-season history of the Emirates Stadium, including the 2-1 win over Barcelona last year and the 5-2 shellacking of Spurs. Fans knew the players had done themselves, the manager and the club proud and had annexed some of the anger that has built up over the last few seasons.
Nails had been shredded to the bone by supporters during a match in which Arsenal had grabbed the bull by the horns from the first minute with a ferocity rarely seen at this level and refused to let it go.
They responded to the passion and optimism of the crowd, who had been upbeat from the off, sending the home side into the match with the exhortation ‘We want five’. They so nearly got them, too.
By the time Van Persie slammed home as emphatic a penalty as you will see to put Arsenal 3-0 to the good shortly before the break and send the stands into dreamland, they were tearing open Milan’s defence every time they charged into their opponents’ half. It was magnificent, oxygen-sapping stuff.
At the heart of the dominance was Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, playing his first game for the club he joined only last summer in central midfield and looking like he had been playing there for each of his 18 years.
He ran the show, fizzing a sixth-minute corner on to the head of Laurent Koscielny and winning the penalty with a run that was as thrillingly direct as it was clever. Hardly any less influential was Rosicky, the invisible man for the last three years but who has been galvanised into form and fitness by the prospect of a contract extension at the end of the season.
Until those two tired around the hour mark and Milan finally got a foothold in the match, Arsene Wenger’s post-match claim that he felt at half-time his team could score “two or three more goals in the second half” was not a fanciful one.
Glorious failure it might have been for Wenger’s team but it was still failure. Had Van Persie maintained his wondrous standards of this season they would now be celebrating a comeback to rank with Liverpool’s in the 2005 Champions League final and Deportivo La Coruna’s in the 2004 quarter-finals. On both occasions, Milan were the opponents.
Instead, Arsenal crash out at the last-16 stage for the second consecutive season. But this time, they do not do so at the hands of the greatest team in the modern era, as they did after losing to Barcelona 12 months ago.
Milan are a side capable of reaching considerable heights and possess some towering performers, particularly Zlatan Ibrahimovic, but this tie should not have turned into a mountain to climb for Arsenal. They delivered a skyscraper display on a famous evening but the foundations for their exit were laid at San Siro.
The body language of the two sets of players at the final whistle told nearly as much of a tale as the previous 90 minutes.
The outstanding Tomas Rosicky sank to the turf, lay on his back and stared at the full moon in the clear north London sky. Kieran Gibbs crouched down forlornly. Robin van Persie adopted the teapot pose, with both hands on hips, trying to take in the events of a barmy but unforgettable night.
By contrast, their Milan counterparts were simply relieved. There was little in the way of celebration. They shook hands with their opponents, traded a few shirts and headed off down the tunnel and into the Champions League quarter-finals.
| SO NEAR YET SO FAR | ||||||||||||||||
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Somewhat sheepishly, Milan stumble through by the skin of their teeth while Arsenal go out with heads held high and pride not so much restored but redoubled.
Despite the aggregate scoreline, this felt like a game when Arsenal's supporters fell back in love with their team. There was poison, not romance, in the air when they went 2-0 down against Tottenham nine days previously but the atmosphere throughout this against-the-odds quest was upbeat, partisan and thunderous.
The spontaneous celebrations at the end were unlike anything witnessed in the six-season history of the Emirates Stadium, including the 2-1 win over Barcelona last year and the 5-2 shellacking of Spurs. Fans knew the players had done themselves, the manager and the club proud and had annexed some of the anger that has built up over the last few seasons.
Nails had been shredded to the bone by supporters during a match in which Arsenal had grabbed the bull by the horns from the first minute with a ferocity rarely seen at this level and refused to let it go.
They responded to the passion and optimism of the crowd, who had been upbeat from the off, sending the home side into the match with the exhortation ‘We want five’. They so nearly got them, too.
By the time Van Persie slammed home as emphatic a penalty as you will see to put Arsenal 3-0 to the good shortly before the break and send the stands into dreamland, they were tearing open Milan’s defence every time they charged into their opponents’ half. It was magnificent, oxygen-sapping stuff.
At the heart of the dominance was Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, playing his first game for the club he joined only last summer in central midfield and looking like he had been playing there for each of his 18 years.
| MAN OF THE MATCH | |
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| ALEX OXLADE-CHAMBERLAIN | |
8.5 | The night a superstar was born. His first-half display in central midfield was so polished it was little wonder that he didn't have a can of Mr Sheen in his shorts. Set up the opener with his fizzing corner and brilliantly won the penalty for the third. Faded a little after taking a knock but proved that Arsenal might have a once-in-a-generation player on their hands. |
Until those two tired around the hour mark and Milan finally got a foothold in the match, Arsene Wenger’s post-match claim that he felt at half-time his team could score “two or three more goals in the second half” was not a fanciful one.
Glorious failure it might have been for Wenger’s team but it was still failure. Had Van Persie maintained his wondrous standards of this season they would now be celebrating a comeback to rank with Liverpool’s in the 2005 Champions League final and Deportivo La Coruna’s in the 2004 quarter-finals. On both occasions, Milan were the opponents.
Instead, Arsenal crash out at the last-16 stage for the second consecutive season. But this time, they do not do so at the hands of the greatest team in the modern era, as they did after losing to Barcelona 12 months ago.
Milan are a side capable of reaching considerable heights and possess some towering performers, particularly Zlatan Ibrahimovic, but this tie should not have turned into a mountain to climb for Arsenal. They delivered a skyscraper display on a famous evening but the foundations for their exit were laid at San Siro.
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