Arsene Wenger Moans at Champions League Rules in Newcastle vs. Arsenal Presser

Arsene Wenger has criticised the UEFA Champions League's away goals ruling after watching his Arsenal side eliminated against Monaco despite a 3-3 aggregate scoreline.

The Gunners fell 3-1 during the round-of-16 first leg and secured a 2-0 win at the Stade Louis II on Wednesday, but UEFA's rules place Monaco into the next round after notching the greater total on enemy territory.

Wenger suggested this is an outdated way of deciding the tie in his pre-match press conference ahead of Arsenal's trip to Newcastle, per the club's Twitter account:

The Frenchman has expressed such concerns before, noting away goals are "a problem in the modern game" back in 2013, reported by Darren Witcoop of The Telegraph. John Brewin of ESPN FC poked fun at Wenger's recent comments:

Arsenal's attention now turns toward Newcastle and bedding down a Champions League place for next season.

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The Gunners are three points clear of fifth-placed Liverpool and one point behind second-placed Manchester City with nine games remaining. Wenger is concerned fatigue may begin to take hold of his players, however, per the club's feed:

Wenger doesn't expect his men to make a late title charge—they are seven points behind leaders Chelsea—reported by Kevin Palmer of the Sunday World:

Even so, the Frenchman believes his team are improving:

St. James Park remains one of the Premier League's tougher grounds to get a positive result from, but Newcastle are currently struggling on a poor run of form. John Carver's side have won only one of their last six matches, securing just four wins since the end of November, per Soccerway.

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Arsenal racked up a 4-1 win during December's reverse fixture. Braces from Olivier Giroud and Santi Cazorla secured the points, while Ayoze Perez's consolation stopped the north London side from grabbing a clean sheet.

With Giroud in excellent form—having scored seven in his last eight across all competitions, per WhoScored.com—Wenger will be hoping to repeat the season's earlier result.

Wenger's men appear to be among the safer top four contenders and won't be thinking about missing out on a Champions League place at this point. Arsenal have won five straight Premier League matches since losing to Tottenham on Feb. 7. Despite being knocked out of Europe, they continue to underline an improved grit and determination away from home.