Arsenal's Champions League dreams end in heartache as Wenger admires Barcelona 'art'

Barcelona, 2-0 up from the first leg, cruised through, winning 3-1 to take the tie 5-1 on aggregate.

“Barcelona’s accuracy of passing and creativity is exceptional,” said Wenger. 

“You must admire art. They have two or three players with the ability to transform normal life into art. 

“Of course for me it is suffering as well, but it is exceptional what Messi does. Well done Barca, they are an exceptional side.”

A stunning strike from Mohamed Elneny just after the break wiped out Neymar’s early goal and raised hopes of a remarkable comeback from the first-leg deficit.

But in the end, goals from the other two members of Barcelona’s stellar strikeforce left Wenger, below, with nothing but admiration for his opponents.

“I felt at 1-1 they were wobbling and a bit insecure,” he said.

“But we could not take the chance to score the second goal. When they scored at 2-1 we lost a bit of edge and belief.”

In the end, the 5-1 aggregate defeat is the biggest for the club since Arsenal lost 8-4 to Spartak Moscow in 1982 and the sixth time in a row Arsenal have been shown the exit in the first knockout round of the competition, but Wenger railed against that last statistic.