Arsenal fell short of a spectacular comeback as they beat AC Milan 3-0 at the Emirates in their Champions League round-of-16 second leg but lost the tie 4-3 on aggregate.
First-half goals from Laurent Koscielny, Tomas Rosicky and Robin van Persie set Arsenal on course for a historical comeback, but the home side ran out steam in the second, as Milan held on for a narrow win.
ESPNSTAR.com takes a look at the thrilling second leg and rates how the players fared during the match.
Arsenal
Wojech Szczesny - 8
The Arsenal goalkeeper was brilliant during the game as he confidently came forward to claim crosses and bravely ran forward to close down Robinho and Zlatan Ibrahimovic when they tried to hunt down long balls inside the box. His best moment came in the 77th minute when he blocked a close-range Nocerino shot.
Bacary Sagna - 7.5
The Frenchman was strong down the right and he helped shackle Robinho repeatedly. Put in a couple of fizzing crosses for Van Persie.
Thomas Vermaelen - 7.5
Vermaelen was solid at the back and made several strong challenges, preventing Ibrahimovic from dominating the game as the Swede had done in the first leg. He marshalled his defence admirably and demonstrated why he is rated as one of Belgium's best defenders.
Laurent Koscielny - 8
Koscielny was rock solid at the back and he was even a potent attacking threat in the game. His header into the net in the 7th minute helped kickstart things for Arsenal and the Frenchman provided a remarkably improved display from the first leg.
Kieran Gibbs - 6
Gibbs was the weak link in Arsenal's defence as both Stephan El Shaarawy and Alberto Aquilani managed to get behind him but he was able to link up effectively with Gervinho and Rosicky up front.
Tomas Rosicky - 8
The playmaker had another sparkling game and masterminded Arsenal's movement in the first half. He dribbled effortlessly past the Milan midfielders and linked up well with Van Persie and also scored the second goal, running into the box and smashing a shot past Abbiati in the 26th minute.
Alex Song - 8
The Cameroonian international gave a no-nonsense display as he repeatedly tackled Van Bommel and Emmanuelson and helped stifle Milan's attempts to string attacks and mount a comeback.
Gervinho - 5.5
Couldn't make as much of an impact as Wenger would have been hoping. Wasn't able to put in crosses or threaten Abbiati's goal often - except for one deflected strike which the Milan custodian saved with his legs. Gervinho did close down the Milan players and ensured that El Shaarawy was starved of many opportunities down the right wing.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (off 75') - 9
You wouldn't think that this was only the ninth Arsenal start for the 19-year-old. He produced a brilliant corner in the 7th minute that found an unmarked Koscielny and his strong run through the middle in the 43rd minute earned a penalty as Mesbah could not catch up and could only foul the youngster. 'The Ox' was sensational and confident and rarely put a wrong foot in the game.
Theo Walcott (off 84') - 6.5
The England international was quiet for much of the game until the 26th minute when he burst down the right and crossed a ball in. Although it was more due to an error by Thiago Silva rather than due to Walcott's vision, the pass nevertheless found Rosicky who slid the ball into the goal. The winger was often out of position and easily tackled, however, and gave another one of his frustrating performances.
Robin van Persie - 8
The captain again led his side with confidence and pounced on every opportunity available. His penalty in the 43rd minute was unstoppable and his left-footed shot in the 19th minute from outside the penalty box was superb as he carved out the opportunity in the minimal space available.
He should have scored in the 60th minute, however, off the rebound from Gervinho's shot from three yards out, but took the wrong option in trying to chip Abbiati.
Subs
Marouane Chamakh (on 75') - 4
Barely got a touch of the ball.
Park Chu-Young (on 84') - N/A
Post time 6-3-2012 11:00 PM
