Arsenal fell agonisingly short of producing a ‘miracle in Monaco’ as goals from Olivier Giroud and Aaron Ramseywere not enough to prevent the Gunners from crashing out of the Champions League.
Monaco were second best at the Stade Louis II but their 3-1 first leg victory at the Emirates Stadium was enough to see them through to the last eight on away goals.
Arsene Wenger’s men had a host of chances before Giroud eventually opened the scoring on 36 minutes with a precise angled strike to give his side hope.
They continued to pile forward after the break but were frustrated by the French side’s stubborn defence, and they had to wait until substitute Ramsey’s 79th minute thunderbolt for the Gunners to really dream.
Monaco had to dig in during a frantic finale and resulted to brute force to keep the north London side at bay, as the hosts managed to hold on to seal their progression.
The hosts started the brighter of the teams but couldn’t turn their possession into goalscoring chances, and after a dominant opening ten minutes it was all Arsenal as the Premier League side looked to spark a comeback.
Giroud, who was guilty of a number of misses in the first clash, could have had a hat-trick in the opening half, with the Frenchman glancing a free header just wide of the post with his side’s first chance on goal.
Laurent Koscielny, who has a knack of scoring in big games, then hit the crossbar with a close-range volley on the turn, and while the linesman’s flag was raised for offside for the defender’s effort, replays showed the flick on came from a Monaco player.
Arsenal were soon presented with their chance, however, and they gratefully took it with both hands as Giroud gave the Gunners hope with the breakthrough goal.
The usually razor-sharp Monaco back four were caught napping as Giroud broke free, and though the Frenchman’s first effort was well blocked by onrushing goalkeeper Danijel Subasic, the rebound fell kindly to the striker, who hammered high into the net at the second attempt.
The Gunners were inches away from a second goal moment later when Danny Welbeck found room on the edge of the box, but his low drive was deflected just wide of the post with the goalkeeper stranded.
There was a flurry of chances as the half-time break approached, with Giroud firing a point blank header straight at the keeper while Welbeck saw an angled drive well smothered, and Croatian shot-stopper Subasic was called into action again moments after the break to deny Mesut Ozil’s dipping free-kick.
Monaco were forced to sit back to withstand the bombardment on their box, but the hosts soon flustered Arsenal’s defensive line, who almost hit self-destruct again with three shanked attempted clearances, though they did eventually manage to get the ball away after two efforts from Joao Moutinho were blocked.
Wenger made his move with 20 minutes remaining with the introductions of Ramsey and Theo Walcott, and the substitutes combined for the Gunners’ second goal. Walcott’s low effort was denied by the post but Monaco’s clearance only found Ramsey on the edge of the area, with the Welshman thumping a strong drive into the bottom corner.
Arsenal then had a glorious chance to seal a dramatic fightback but Giroud and Alexis Sanchez got in each other’s way, knocking Giroud off balance as he rose for a header which Subasic managed to claw off his line.
Wenger’s men kept up their spirited display until the final whistle but their efforts proved to be in vain, with that late third goal conceded at the Emirates costing them a place in the next round.
Elsewhere, Diego Simeone's Atletico Madrid edged past Bayer Leverkusen to reach the last eight after their encounter went to penalties.
Mario Suarez's first half goal drew the scores level on aggregate after Leverkusen won the first leg 1-0 in Germany, and the La Liga holders prevailed 3-2 in the shootout after extra time.
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