Arsenala s Arsene Wenger has claimed that perhaps the Gunners would be better off to drop down to the Europa League rather than get knocked out in the Round of 16 every season.
The Gunners boss was upset with the way his team lost the tie against Monaco, and said that while previous campaigns they were beaten by teams who went to the final, Monaco should have been an easier task.
Arsene said, “Yes, but sometimes we have been beaten by opponents who were in the final.
“Perhaps it would be better not to go out like this and make the Europa League, we would be more likely to win.”
Arsenala s stand-in captain Per Mertesacker said that they did not have the focus to win the game in the first leg which cost them the chance to reach the quarterfinals.
a In the first game, we didna t have that mental level you need to compete at the highest level. That was missing but you could see on Tuesday night in Monaco how good we are as a team and how well organised we can be,a Mertesacker said.
a We need to consider that every day in training and in games, that is why we are so far away from winning the Champions League.
a It is the last 16 and Monaco were underestimated by a lot of people, but they deserved it by playing well in the first leg.
a We had one bad game and that is enough to get knocked out.
a In the first leg, we conceded that late goal which was overall the killer, so it is really disappointing for us.a
Aaron Ramsey also rued the missed chance of going to the next round following a tepid display in the first leg.
a We could take some positives from the Monaco performance and hopefully we can get back on track against Newcastle this weekend and we can keep that running run we are on,a the Wales midfielder said.
a Many things can happen in the Premier League still, with many twists and turns.
a We will be looking to concentrate on ourselves and take full advantage of the games we do have left.
a We are also in a good position in the FA Cup. We have Reading (in the semi-finals), which we will feel confident of going through.a