Gunners shoot themselves in foot

The Spaniards had 19 attempts on goal and substitute keeper Manuel Almunia was the visitors best player.

Arsenal will be forever convinced that Robin van Persies red card cost them the chance of beating Barcelona but the truth is that they were overwhelmed,while contributing heavily to their own downfall.

Barcelonas 3-1 win at the Nou Camp on Tuesday took them into the Champions League quarter-finals by what looks a narrow 4-3 aggregate but they were a class apart in every department,not least the one that Arsenal pride themselves on 8211; passing and possession. The statistics tell their own damning story as Barcelona enjoyed almost 70 per cent of the possession and made 738 passes to Arsenals 199. The Spaniards had 19 attempts on goal and substitute keeper Manuel Almunia was the visitors best player.

No shots on target

Arsenal did not manage a single one unless you include Van Persies wild post-whistle,offside lash that became the games main talking point. Arsenal had two touches in the Barca penalty area,and one of those was the miscontrol by Nicklas Bendtner near the end in a rare moment of concern for the home defenders.

The reality is that they did not have three passes in a row, said Barcelona manager Pep Guardiola matter-of-factly.

Yet,not that they needed to,Arsenal gave Barcelona all the help they could muster. Cesc Fabregas,desperate to play against his former,and possibly future,club having missed the quarter-final second leg last season,was clearly unfit. Seemingly protecting the hamstring strain that had made him a doubt right up until kick off,the captain was anonymous apart from one ambitious backheel just outside the box.

Unfortunately it was outside his own box,moments before halftime,and led to Lionel Messi scoring the opening goal. I take full blame for the result, Fabregas said on his Twitter page. One of the worst moments of my life. I apologise.

Wenger,however,could also be accused of contributing to the defeat by deploying negative tactics. Barcelona were playing with midfielder Sergio Busquests and fullback Eric Abidal,thrown together in a makeshift centre back partnership,crying out to be pressurised.