Monaco fortunate to advance - Wenger

Gunners' 2-0 victory not enough to see them through to next round of Champions League

Monaco was fortunate to reach the Champions League quarterfinals on away goals, Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said on Tuesday after his team's 2-0 win at Louis II failed to overturn its first-leg defeat.

Monaco won 3-1 in London three weeks ago but was overwhelmed by a dominant Arsenal squad in the return game, although Wenger was left to rue missed chances.

"We knew that it would be tough to score three goals but we did not seize our opportunities," the manager told BeIN Sport.

"It's not a question of merit, it's a question of being efficient. We also made psychological errors in the first leg. Monaco was fortunate, we must congratulate them."

Arsenal defender Per Mertesacker, however, was critical of his side.

"The best team went through. Monaco deserved it because they played much better in the first leg. We played well today but it was a massive deficit and it wasn't enough tonight," the German said.

"We came here and tried absolutely everything and when you look at the game we could have scored more than two. Monaco deserves it and that's absolutely fine.

"They caused a lot of problems away from home. We have to admit that we regret the first game.

"But if we continue to play like that we'll do well in the FA Cup and the (Premier) league. But play as badly as we did in the first game and you're out of the Champions League."

"We tried to push until the end but Monaco held firm and they did not steal their qualification. Hats off to them," Arsenal striker Olivier Giroud said.

Arsenal went ahead in the 36th minute when Giroud fired into the roof of the net and second-half substitute Aaron Ramsey doubled the score 11 minutes from time with a low shot.

"In the past we've played Bayern, Barcelona - no disrespect to Monaco but we thought we had a good opportunity to qualify," Ramsey said.

Meanwhile, Monaco coach Leonardo Jardim reckons everyone will want his team in the draw.

He also said the teams remaining in the competition had not learned the lesson that Monaco should not be underestimated.

"I am sure that all the teams will want to draw Monaco in the quarterfinals," he told a news conference.

"The qualification is totally deserved. Arsenal benefited from two errors to score. It was the game we expected. Very intense."

Monaco midfielder Geoffrey Kondogbia told BeIN Sport: "The first goal put us in a difficult position. Then we sat back and refused to play,"

"We were not the favorites, but a game is not lost or won before kickoff."