Arsenal manager, Arsene Wenger, has hailed Barcelona's 'MSN' as the best in the world and takes the positives from his side's 3-1 loss to the Catalans in the pre-quarters of the UEFA Champions League.
The Frenchman's side crashed out of the Champions League round-of-16 for the sixth year running but insisted he wasn't going to take anything away from his team's performance and that what Barcelona's front three – Lionel Messi, Neymar and Luis Suarez – do day in and day out is more than football.
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"I think I'm pleased with the performance of the team. Our game was good, I'm disappointed with the result, but overall we played against a team with the best strikers I've seen," Wenger said.
"The three together are absolutely exceptional -- they can create a chance from nothing. It was a turning point at 1-1, I could feel they were wobbling a little bit, they were insecure.
"Had we scored a second goal I think we would have created a sensation tonight. But we didn't. And after, anyone of the three up front can score an exceptional goal.
"But I must say Barca, the quality and accuracy of their passing and creativity in the final third, especially Messi is exceptional. Over the whole game he did not miss one first touch.
"You must in our sport admire art -- and they have two or three players who transform normal life into art. I respect that, it is pleasure as well, of course for me it is suffering, but it is exceptional what he does."
Wenger also spoke about his team's chances of qualifying for further rounds given Arsenal have faced either Barcelona or Bayern Munich in five of the last seasons – with both the teams heading all the way to the semi-finals minimum in every one of those seasons.
"We had our chances, but we couldn't take them," Wenger said. Danny Welbeck, Olivier Giroud and Alexis Sanchez all missed chances from in and around the penalty box. "I know it is it difficult to take to go out, but I believe we produced a quality performance against maybe the best team in Europe at the moment," he added. "Well done to them, and I wish them well.
"We have gone out, it's true, in the last six years against top sides who have won the competition after. Just once against Monaco, others against either Barca or Bayern."
Arsenal – having been knocked out of the FA Cup and the Champions League in the same week – only have to focus on the Premier League now and will look to make the most of it starting with a trip to Liverpool to face Everton.
