Per Mertesacker had to admit that the prospect of ever winning the European Cup was a distant dream for Arsenal as they came to terms with another early exit.
Arsenal won 2-0 in Monaco on Tuesday but lost the first leg 3-1 in London and went out on away goals. Arsene Wenger was downbeat and introspective after the game as he tried to sum up the disappointment of a fifth successive campaign ending in the first knockout round.
The Arsenal boss claimed flippantly that it might be better to finish third in the group and drop into the Europa League than keep losing in the last 16. His captain was equally sombre when asked how far this team was from seriously competing for the top prize. ‘Far,’ said Mertesacker. ‘Monaco were very under- estimated. But they deserved it by playing well in the first leg. We had one bad game and that was enough to get knocked out. We were missing some good fortune but we didn’t deserve it because we played so poorly in the first leg.
‘It’s difficult after such a good performance to look back and think that in the first game we missed that mental level you need to compete at the highest level. You can see how good we are as a team and how well organised we can be. We need to consider that every single day in training and in games. That’s why we are so far away.’
Wenger said: ‘Maybe it would be better not to pass the group phase and play the Europa League than to be eliminated in the last 16. We would have more chances to win a title.’
The Arsenal manager insisted this was meant to be a comment about the abrupt and unforgiving nature of the Champions League in its knockout phase rather than a serious realignment of ambitions.
Wenger’s team have won 13 of their last 15 games and are third in the Barclays Premier League. Aaron Ramsey thinks they can catch Manchester City and finish even higher.
‘The top two is within our grasp,’ said Ramsey. ‘It’s only one point and anything can happen. We still have the FA Cup to go... we’re still on for a successful season.
‘We’re more than capable of beating anyone and it’s a case of being more wise over two games in Europe. Hopefully if we get a chance next year we can put that right.’ – Daily Mail