Arsenal came within a fingertip of a historic Champions League comeback vs Milan on Tuesday. Having lost the first leg 4-0 in Milan, Arsene Wenger’s brave Arsenal beat a less than confident Milan 3-0 but not the aggregate.

London / NationalTurk – Ac Milan has to – most probably did – thank goalie Christian Abbiati who preserved Milan’s aggregate lead with the save from Arsenal’s Robin van Persie ‘s shot in the second half of Arsenal Milan Champions League second leg face-off. Milan survived an almighty scare against a rejuvenated Arsenal squad to scrape into the Champions League quarter-finals 4-3 on aggregate today despite being thrashed 3-0 by the London side who almost pulled off mission impossible.

Arsenal ‘s Premier League victories, including a 5-2 defeat of Tottenham Hotspur from 2-0 down and another comeback in a 2-1 win at Liverpool on Saturday, had apparently fuelled belief in Arsenal ranks that all might not be lost against the Italian aristocrats from Milano.

Arsenal v Milan Champions League : Arsenal Comeback bound to be told for ages stopped by Milan

Arsenal’s brave attempt was one comeback too far. Arsenal’s performance vs Milan touched on the exquisite in the first half of Arsenal vs Milan Champions League game yet the agonising failure of not reaching the Champions League 2012 Quarter Finals tasted the same.

No team in Champions League history have overturned a 4 goal first-leg deficit and that remains the case despite Arsène Wenger’s braves gave it one hell of a roll. Milan’s 4-0 win in the San Siro one week earlier left Arsenal with a five % chance of survival, stated Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger in a press conference prior to Arsenal vs Milan Champions League but his team struck three times in an astonishing first half to threaten the greatest of European Cup escapes7 comebacks.

Arsenal Milan Champions League game : Arsenal showed pride and determination, Milan came to their senses

This team have refused to bow in recent weeks. In each of their previous three Premier League matches they came from behind to win, most memorably in the derby against Tottenham Hotspur. And when they hurled off the shackles that had inhibited them in the first leg of this last-16 collision to take a three-goal half-time lead, the platform was in place for an I-was-there evening.

Arsenal emerged from Arsenal Milan Champions League game with European pride restored and then some; together with the continuation of recent progress, which ought to set them fair for a return to this competition next season. Arsenal Players covered themselves in glory, particularly Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, in an unfamiliar deep-lying central midfield role, and Tomas Rosicky, who has emerged from what has felt like a hibernation.

The Serie A champions displayed a shocking performance in the first half of Arsenal vs Milan Champions League as goals from Laurent Koscielny, Tomas Rosicky and a Robin van Persie penalty meant their confident lead all but evaporated after the whistle for 1st half was blown .

Arsenal went out of steam vs Milan in the second half : Arsenal Milan Champions League Thriller

Milan, who have won the Champions League ( former European Champion Clubs’ Cup ) trophy seven times, came to their senses after the break to win the last 16 tie but their fans, aware of a similar second-leg collapse against Deportivo Coruna in 2004, had their nerves shredded on a night of raw tension. Milan could have made it a more comfortable night but Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Antonio Nocerino were guilty of spurning the chances in the second half to give their side some breathing space.

But in the second half Arsenal ran out of steam against a Milan side who belatedly recovered their composure and showed their experience. Robin van Persie had the best chance to square things up on aggregate in the 59th minute but, at close quarters, his attempted chip was read by Milan goalkeeper Christian Abbiati.Van Persie, who scored a superb late winner against Liverpool last weekend, botched a glorious chance to level the tie early in the second half when he scooped an effort straight into the arms of Christian Abbiati and Arsenal ran out of steam. Milan have been scarred from seemingly unassailable positions in the past. Think Deportivo La Coruña 2004 and Liverpool 2005. Arsenal 2012 so nearly checked into their hall of shame.

Arsene Wenger raged at the Slovenian referee Damir Skomina, who did endure erratic moments, but the Arsenal manager’s frustration would have been better directed at his lack of credible options in reserve. As his players tired he had little on the substitutes’ bench, particularly in midfield, where injuries had bitten. Arsenal were left to lament their shocking performance in the first leg, on a pudding of a pitch at San Siro, and the plaudits here could not mask the pain.

At least, though, they could have few regrets on the night. They had prepared diligently, especially on the psychological side, with Arsene Wenger in almost ludicrously bullish pre-match form. There was,Wenger had said, a ‘ real possibility ‘ that his Arsenal could prove the impossible was possible; if Milan could score four at home, so could they.

Arsenal v Milan Champions League / Match Video

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Arsenal players took their cue and mustered every last ounce of effort from the first whistle of Arsenal Milan Champions League Game. Arsene Wenger and his side are nothing if not hopeless romantics and they fired the dreams of the home support with the early opening goal. Mark van Bommel had already been booked for a foul on Rosicky that means he will be suspended for the first leg of the next tie when he failed to track the outstanding Laurent Koscielny from Oxlade-Chamberlain’s viciously inswinging corner. Van Bommel was not helped by his team-mate Philippe Mexès, who lost his bearings and blocked him off. Koscielny profited accordingly from close range.

Arsenal Milan Champions League . The game’s moments

Arsenal fans were energised. Van Persie twice worked Milan goalie Abbiati before the occasion was ignited by the second goal. Again the defending was horrible; battle-hardened Serie A teams are simply not supposed to concede like this. Theo Walcott’s low cross from the right looked harmless but Thiago Silva’s clearance was directed weakly at Rosicky, who was hovering just inside the area. The Czech measured a cool side-foot finish inside the near corner and the passion of the celebrations reflected the feeling that Milan could be taken. The visitors were prisoners in their shells.

Hope turned to conviction upon the third. Oxlade-Chamberlain’s burst into the area was checked illegally by the dismal Djamel Mesbah and Van Persie did what he does from the spot. The longer that he was forced to delay his kick by Van Bommel, his Holland team-mate, the more of a certainty it became that he would score his 32nd goal of a remarkable season.

Arsenal manager Wenger did not want the first half of Arsenal v Milan game to end. The TV cameras picked out a banner with the phrase “It’s up for grabs now”, and the sense that it could be Arsenal’s night hardened when Stephan El Shaarawy, the Milan prodigy with the rock star’s haircut, fluffed a gilt-edged chance in the 45th minute in at the very end of first half.

The fear, though, was that Arsenal could not maintain their intensity in the second half and Milan, having regrouped at the interval, emerged in more compact fashion. Then again, it would have been difficult for them to be any more inept. Zlatan Ibrahimovic came to life and Milan made inroads into Arsenal territory.

It felt as though the next goal would win it and Arsenal went dramatically close. Rosicky led a break and when Gervinho’s shot deflected off Mexès, Abbiati needed to change direction smartly to save. The ball broke to Van Persie; the Emirates held its breath. Abbiati, though, thrust up a hand to paw the effort away. The move was Arsenal’s only clear opportunity of the second period.

As they chased glory, Wenger’s team diced with death. Wojciech Szczesny’s dreadful clearance gave Ibrahimovic a sighting and the striker’s shot fizzed just wide. Then Antonio Nocerino somehow diverted a poke from point-blank range back at the goalkeeper, when half of the net was empty. Milan, however, dragged themselves over the line.

It was all rather an anti-climax in the end for the home side who had Milan on the ropes by halftime, leaving Wenger to rue the damage done in the away leg last month.

Arsenal Milan Champions Game : Manager comments

‘ We are disappointed because we touched qualification, we had the chances, and although we didn’t do it, we were very close,’ Arsenal managerArsene Wenger told reporters.

‘ We restored some pride after the first tie but unfortunately we are out. We had the chances but we paid the price for the first game. We suffered a lot physically in the second half but the players gave a faultless performance.’ added the French man.

“Right now, although we lost I am very happy,” Milan trainer Massimiliano Allegri told reporters. “I am delighted we’ve qualified and that was the main objective, although we have to play better than that.” he added.

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