Intro:

Seven-time European champions AC Milan made it through to the last eight of the 2011-12 Champions League on Tuesday night, but they were given a real scare by Arsenal, who fell just short of overturning a 4-0 first leg deficit in their last 16 tie with a 3-0 victory at the Emirates Stadium in London.

First half goals from Laurent Loscielny and Tomas Rosicky, plus a penalty from Robin van Persie, had given Arsenal hope of becoming only the fourth team in European club football history to achieve such a feat, but Arsene Wenger's side were eliminated 4-3 on aggregate in the end and Milan march on into the quarter-finals.

Script:

SOUNDBITE: (Italian) Massimiliano Allegri, AC Milan coach

"As I've said before, I said Saturday's match was a crucial one for the league (Serie A). Today was the match of the season, because first, with this result, we are in the first eight teams in Europe and that hasn't happened for AC Milan for three years. The second objective, now we've got the opportunity to get to the semi-final and that means a lot. But we also have to give credit to Arsenal."

SOUNDBITE: (Italian) Massimiliano Allegri, AC Milan coach,

"I just said to them (at half time) that we couldn't change what happened in the first half. That the score would remain 3-0 and that we would still create chances and score goals. That was my feeling. I felt we could find the space and score goals, but I think we got the final passes wrong, but in the end I said to my players at the end of the first half that we were still qualified (for the quarter-finals), so..."

SOUNDBITE: (English) Arsene Wenger, Arsenal coach

"Well, I'm... you know, I don't know if it's one of the proudest nights (for Arsenal in Europe), but it's a night where I think players can be proud to play for this club, because they put absolutely every effort in and... You win at home 3-0, you can only say 'well done' to the players and you know that when you play 180 minutes, and you miss ninety, it's difficult at that level. But we're very close."

SOUNDBITE: (English) Arsene Wenger, Arsenal coach

"It's maybe an easy excuse, but I feel UEFA has a lot to answer for, because when you arrive at 7:46 (seven forty-six), you get fined. but you can play on a bad pitch and they don't say a word and I just feel it's part of the respect for people who pay their money and go to a football game to at least put the game into a condition where you can play football and that's what we try to do here and it's unacceptable from UEFA that they accept pitches like we had in Milan (for the first leg)."