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Gallant Arsenal bow out with heads held high

Robin van Persie slots home a penalty © PA Photos

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• Gallery: Tuesday football

Tuesday night gallery

Arsenal produced a stirring effort, but fell agonisingly short of turning their Champions League tie with AC Milan around.

The Gunners trailed 4-0 from a horror show in the first leg, with manager Arsene Wenger claiming there was a five per cent chance of survival. That percentage looked bigger at the break as they led 3-0 through goals from Laurent Koscielny, Tomas Rosicky and Robin van Persie, but they were unable to find the fourth and bowed out 4-3 on aggregate.

The Arsenal faithful arrived more in hope than expectation, but they were fired up on seven minutes as Koscielny lost his marker at a corner and nodded the ball home.

Milan produced some very un-Italian defending and they were picking the ball out of their net for a second time on 26 minutes. Thiago Silva produced a shocking clearance from a Theo Walcott cross and was made to pay as Rosicky calmly stroked home.

Arsenal poured forward in search of more goals and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain won a penalty shortly before half time. Despite being asked to move the ball by referee Damir Skomina, Van Persie kept his nerve and slammed the ball beyond Christian Abbiati.

Milan rarely threatened, although Stephan El Shaarawy somehow fired into the side netting with only Wojciech Szczęsny to beat.

A better chance fell Arsenal's way at the start of the second half, with Van Persie presented the ball three yards out. He seemed surprised and attempted to lift the ball over the keeper rather than powering home and Abbiati gratefully gathered.

Arsenal threw everything at Milan, but ran out of legs in the final ten minutes and they were unable to find the goal that would have forced extra time.

In Lisbon, Benfica's task against Zenit St Petersburg appeared considerably more achievable after their first leg ended 3-2 in favour of the Russians.

And Jorge Jesus' side were left celebrating their place in the last eight after earning a 2-0 victory at the Estadio da Luz.

Maxi Pereira set Benfica on their way as he lashed home the opening goal in first-half stoppage time, and substitute Nelson Miguel Castro Oliveira rounded things off late on with a breakaway strike in the third minute of injury time.

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