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Van Persie shocker sees Barcelona beat Arsenal

Robin van Persie's red card was a huge turning point at the Nou Camp © PA Photos

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Arsenal suffered the harshest of refereeing decisions as Barcelona capitalised on the sending off of Robin van Persie to triumph 3-1 at the Nou Camp, sending the Gunners out of the Champions League 4-3 on aggregate.

Van Persie received a red card in the 55th minute for kicking the ball away, even though only a second passed between the blow of the referee's whistle for offside and Van Persie's effort at goal. The Dutchman pleaded his innocence, insisting he had not heard the whistle, but the decision had been sealed and so had Arsenal's European fate.

Prior to the sending off, Gunners skipper Cesc Fabregas had committed footballing suicide to hand Barcelona the lead on the stroke of half-time, attempting a crazy backheel on the edge of his own area. Lionel Messi - fed by partner in crime Andres Iniesta - took one touch, sat Manuel Almunia down, chipped the ball over him and volleyed into the empty net to swing the tie in Barca's favour.

The pendulum had not settled though, and Arsenal levelled through a Sergio Busquets own goal early in the second period, only to then see Van Persie dismissed. Barca had been dominant against 11 men, so they became ruthless when faced with 10, regaining the lead on the night through Xavi before moving ahead on aggregate thanks to a Messi spot-kick.

Arsenal's back four was always going to come under great pressure in Spain, and Messi - the man who scored four times when Barcelona knocked Arsenal out last season - offered his first threat in the 12th minute. Laurent Koscielny dealt admirably in the one-on-one situation, but the Frenchman was booked moments later for a foul on Pedro, and from the resulting free-kick Wojciech Szczesny damaged a finger collecting Dani Alves' stinging shot, forcing the young keeper to be replaced by Almunia.

Barca poured forward, rattling a post through Adriano and then having a blatant penalty appeal ignored when Abou Diaby felled Messi. Arsenal appeared set to complete a professional first half display, but then a mixture of Fabregas laziness and Messi genius handed Barca a 1-0 interval lead, and the advantage in the tie. The Gunners captain's elaborate intentions with the backheel were read by Iniesta, who instantly fed the world footballer of the year for a breathtaking finish.

Cesc Fabregas was at fault for Barcelona's first goal © PA Photos

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Wenger's rallying cry at half-time demanded that his players show how tough they are, and Samir Nasri responded almost instantly, winning and then taking the corner that got Arsenal back into the contest. Busquets, attacking the ball in the wrong direction, headed past Victor Valdes to put the visitors back in control. However, Arsenal's joy was extremely short-lived with Van Persie sent off 10 minutes into the second period, punished in the most unreasonable of circumstances, much to the dismay of Wenger.

Arsenal now had their backs pinned to the wall, Almunia twice forced to deny David Villa when clean through, but the next goal was inevitable. It's quality too was predictable, with Iniesta mercurial on his mazy run, Villa delicate in his one-touch lay-off and Xavi perfectly placed to slot past Almunia. The tie was officially level on aggregate, yet it felt completely out of Arsenal's reach, a feeling confirmed when Messi converted from the spot following Koscielny's foul on Pedro.

Almunia was a star for Arsenal, denying Messi a hat-trick on multiple occasions with Arsenal still needing only one to progress, and they should have found that winner at the death when Nicklas Bendtner produced a woeful touch when one-on-one with Valdes. The better team, regardless of the red card, eventually progressed, having denied Arsenal a single shot at goal in the entire contest.

In the night's other tie, Shakhtar Donetsk confirmed themselves as a dangerous prospect in the last eight, beating 10-man Roma 3-0 on the night for a 6-2 aggregate victory.

The Ukrainians were ahead inside 20 minutes at the Donbass Arena, with Tomas Hubschman producing a clever flick from Willian's low left-wing cross. Roma's already monumental task then became close to impossible when Philippe Mexes saw red for his second bookable offence of the opening period, and Willian took advantage with a brilliant second before Eduardo grabbed a late third.

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