Spot-on Gunners squeeze past Roma


Arsenal edged into the Champions League quarter-finals after beating Roma 7-6 on penalties after a 1-0 loss saw the tie end 1-1 on aggregate.

The Gunners fell behind after 10 minutes in the Stadio Olimpico when Brazilian defender Juan had all the time in the world to lash home from close range.

But neither side were able to make the telling breakthrough before regulation time finished and when extra time failed to separate them too, it went to the inevitable penalty shoot-out.
Arsenal took the first kick, but Doni comfortably saved Eduardo's weak effort. Mirko Vucinic missed Roma's second kick after both David Pizarro and Robin van Persie had successfully converted theirs.


Both sides then converted their next five kicks before Max Tonetto lost his nerve and blazed over to spark wild jubilations from the Gunners.

Arsenal's success means there are now four English sides in the last eight of the Champions League for the second successive year, while there are no Italian sides in the quarter-finals for the first time since 2002.

Roma probably had the better of the match in normal time and will feel aggrieved to have crashed out, especially when Francesco Totti's cross from the left managed to squirm through to Juan and the Brazilian defender had time to slot home past Manuel Almunia from six yards out after just 10 minutes.

But the Gunners were grateful to the Spaniard when he made an excellent double save to deny drives from first Marco Motta and then Rodrigo Taddei.
Arsenal's best chance of the half, and indeed the entire match fell to Abou Diaby, but his headed effort from 12 yards was straight at Doni.


Roma were incensed just before the half-time interval when Gael Clichy's clumsy challenge brought Taddei down in the box, but much to Arsenal's relief the referee waved away the Italians' penalty claims.

The second period was a scrappy affair but Julio Baptista spurned a glorious chance to send Roma through when he failed to make contact with the ball from just eight yards out.
Arsenal finished regulation time the stronger with Kolo Toure wasting a good headed opportunity.


Extra time was a bit of a non-event, with neither side seemingly brave enough to commit men forward in search of a winner as the game petered out into the dreaded penalty shoot-out.
And it was Arsenal who were left celebrating a quarter-final spot with the draw for the last eight scheduled to take place on Friday week.


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