Wenger’s anger looked to be matched by Alexis Sánchez and Mesut Özil, who both shouted at team-mate Francis Coquelin after Messi’s first goal.
“Barcelona is a great team,” said Wenger. “We put a lot of energy in the game and technically we were very average. The regret I had was once we looked like we dominate the game, we give the goal away. Similar to Monaco last season, naive, and that is frustrating. When we looked like we could win the game, we just gave it away.
“We lost in a way we knew we couldn’t afford to give them. It’s disappointing to give them a goal like their first. We were extremely guilty and there is no excuse for that first goal. We knew that if we have to keep a 0-0, we keep a 0-0. They are better than us. I believe everybody knows that.
“Barcelona are masters of all aspects of the game. One or two players in a bad position and you get punished. We had two or three opportunities to stop their first goal and we didn’t have the right response to the situation. When you put in the energy we did, it’s very difficult to take.
“We were impatient in the build-up, lost balls we don’t usually lose. Technically, we were not precise enough in our passing.
Who dominated at the Emirates?
“Realistically, it is very, very difficult, if not impossible. Barcelona are 95 per cent through and it is only five per cent for us. We have to go there and fight. We had the chances, we didn’t score.”
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain missed a great chance to score in the first half and Wenger admitted that his team must be more deadly.
“We had an unbelievable chance in the first half,” he said. “The way we finished is a problem. In the final third we miss something.
“There was room to beat them tonight. That is my biggest regret. Of course, you are frustrated when you lose. It’s easy to identify the mistakes afterwards.
“We felt we could win it and we lost our caution to defend. It was vital not to give them the counter attacks when we know they are at their most dangerous.
“It’s a shame the players got no satisfaction, they put everything into the game. When you lose 2-0 at home in the Champions League, you don’t have a happy dressing room. We could have won if we kept our discipline to the end.”
Barcelona's attacking stats
Arsenal players, particularly Sánchez, were frustrated by a number of the decisions given by referee Cuneyt Cakir but Wenger blamed Barcelona.
“They are tricky. When they go down, they shout. They don’t go down silently. It influences the referee every time. It’s like they provoke a reflex from the referee. But we didn’t lose because of the referee. We have to look at ourselves.
Barcelona defender Gerard Piqué appeared to get booked on purpose with the first leg won, ruling him out of the second leg but leaving him clear to play in the quarter-finals. Barcelona manager Luis Enrique denied any staged attempt to keep Piqué clear for the last eight.
“No, it was not deliberate,” said Enrique. “If you have seen the foul, Piqué had to make that foul. It was not deliberate at all.”
Arsenal vs Barcelona timeline February 23 2016
- Telegraph