Arsenal OUT: MSN punish Gunners again as Messi, Suarez and Neymar all score to send Barcelona through to quarter-finals

BARCELONA 3-1 ARSENAL (agg: 5-1) - For a 14 minute-spell, there was just a sniff of a miracle recovery. Mohamed Elneny struck early in the second-half to make it 1-1 on the night and Barcelona wobbled. Arsene Wenger's team bristled briefly with rare purpose and then Luis Suarez restored order in acrobatic style, twisting in mid-air to turn a volley into the top corner before Lionel Messi added the gloss.

Barcelona 3-1 Arsenal (5-1 agg): Luis Suarez hits stunning volley as the Gunners are sent crashing out of the Champions League

Barcelona sealed their place in the Champions League quarter-finals after a 3-1 win over Arsenal on Wednesday
Neymar opened the scoring for Luis Enrique's side with a cool finish after being played through by Luis Suarez
Mohamed Elneny equalised for Arsenal with a stunning finish from outside the box to hand the Gunners a lifeline
Uruguayan Suarez restored Barcelona's lead on the night with a thunderous volley that flew into the top corner
Lionel Messi added a third late in the game as the Argentine chipped over David Ospina with a brilliant finish
The rain fell in Spain as Arsenal disappeared down the drain. Again. For 14 minutes, there was just a sniff of a miracle recovery. Mohamed Elneny struck early in the second-half to make it 1-1 on the night and Barcelona wobbled.

Arsene Wenger’s team bristled briefly with rare purpose and then Luis Suarez restored order in acrobatic style, twisting in mid-air to turn a volley into the top corner. Lionel Messi added a third, to give the aggregate score a five-goal gloss.

And that was that, Arsenal are out of the Champions League in the first knock-out round for the sixth successive year.
And, depressingly, as in so many of those previous campaigns, the demise was set by immature mistakes made in the first-leg and they only flickered into life when the tie was out of reach. It has become a damning trademark of Wenger’s team.

Much of the damage against Barcelona was done in the final 20 minutes of the first leg in London, and Neymar stretched the aggregate lead midway through the first-half in the Nou Camp.

Luis Enrique’s side dropped down a gear and eased into the last eight as they attempt to become the first team in the modern era to defend the title. Arsenal are left to salvage something from the Premier League campaign, with 11 points to make up on Leicester, starting at Everton on Saturday.

Wenger may have had Goodison Park in mind when he filled in the team-sheet, making six changes to the team beaten by Watford in the FA Cup. Others a reaction to poor form and the threat posed by Barcelona. There were also six changes to the team which started the first leg of the tie.

Alex Iwobi was given the nod ahead of Theo Walcott and Joel Campbell. It was only a sixth start for the 19-year-old Nigerian, and his first in the Champions League. Iwobi has never started in the Premier League.

Danny Welbeck started up front and Mathieu Flamini, who conceded a penalty within seconds of coming on in the first leg, was preferred in midfield to Francis Coquelin. Laurent Koscielny returned after injury with Per Mertesacker on the bench as Wenger went for his most mobile central defenders.

Barcelona took command of possession, slicking passes across the slippery surface, but it was Mesut Ozil who had the game’s first real effort at goal. Having won the ball in midfield, Ozil carried it unchallenged the edge of the penalty box, worked it onto his left foot and flashed a shot narrowly wide.
MATCH FACTS

Barcelona XI (4-3-3): Ter Stegen, Dani Alves, Mascherano, Mathieu, Jordi Alba, Rakitic (Arda Turan 77), Busquets, Iniesta (Sergi Roberto 72), Suarez, Messi, Neymar
Subs not used: Bravo, Bartra, Aleix Vidal, Vermaelen, Munir El Haddadi
Scorer: Neymar 18, Suarez 65, Messi 88

Booked: Turan

Arsenal XI (4-2-3-1): Ospina, Bellerin, Gariel, Koscielny, Monreal, Flamini (Coquelin 45), Elneny, Iwobi (Giroud 72), Ozil, Alexis Sanchez, Welbeck

Subs not used: Macey, Mertesacker, Gibbs, Walcott, Campbell

Scorer: Elneny 51

Booked: Flamini, Gabriel, Sanchez

Referee: Sergei Karasev (Russia)