Per Mertesacker admits that Arsenal's first-leg defeat to Bayern Munich left them with too much to do on Tuesday night.
The Germany international was outstanding as Arsene Wenger's side earned a 1-1 draw at the Allianz Arena but the holders won 3-1 on aggregate to move into the quarter-finals of the Champions League.
Bayern's 2-0 win at Emirates Stadium three weeks ago - secured after Arsenal missed a penalty and had goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny sent off - proved decisive.
"We had a few chances but didn't take them well enough to score and beat Manuel Neuer"
"It is disappointing but overall we played two good away games in both years against Bayern Munich," Mertesacker told Arsenal Player. "It's obvious that both home games weren't enough to help us go through.
"We tried everything [in the second leg], especially in the last 10 minutes. We tried to track them over the whole place, we got some balls in good situations but didn't manage to score. We had to score twice so we were two goals away from the quarter-finals. That is a lot so I think they deserve overall to win, especially because of the first game.
"But we were always in it and we tried to keep up the belief. We had a few chances but didn't take them well enough to score and beat Manuel Neuer.
"But I think we take some positive things out of the game and we will try to stick to them. If we maintain our defensive level we'll have a good season. We want to finish strong, we want to do the same as last year and we have a decent chance."
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