Twitter Reacts as Arsenal Crash out of the Champions League at Barcelona

Miracle? Mission impossible? Call it what you will, but Arsenal needed something special to overcome Barcelona in the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday.

This stage of the competition hadn't been kind to Arsene Wenger's men in the past...

The Gunners had a 2-0 deficit to overcome in the second leg after a Lionel Messi double in the first encounter in London, and fans were not feeling great going into the reverse at the Camp Nou:

"

@Arsenal pic.twitter.com/fp9pKdKZEE

— Sweetest High (@EvaMcL3) March 16, 2016"

Even less enthusiasm came from seeing Mathieu Flamini's name on the teamsheet:

But what would Arsenal fans be if they weren't just a little bit optimistic?

The Gunners started well but had David Ospina to thank after 17 minutes when the Colombian denied Messi:

"

Messi applauded Ospina for his save. What a legend

— Leo Messi (@messi10stats) March 16, 2016"

The Argentinian's touch was sublime:

And Arsenal's resistance didn't last much longer, when Messi, Neymar and Luis Suarez combined to put Barcelona 1-0 in front:

Alex Iwobi caught the eye with an appeal for a penalty:

Though Arsenal couldn't breach the defending Spanish, European and world champions' defence in the first half, it took just five minutes for them to do so in the second spell:

It was beginning to look like a familiar story was about to unfold for Arsenal:

That prediction looked gloriously accurate when Suarez hooked home an acrobatic finish after 65 minutes:

Maybe the Gunners had to readjust their expectations:

The final nail in the coffin came from Messi, who clipped over the goalkeeper just before time expired:

"

Mesut Özil: "Arsenal do not fear Barcelona trio Messi, Suarez and Neymar."

They all three scored tonight 

— Footy Jokes (@Footy_Jokes) March 16, 2016"

It finished 3-1 on the night, 5-1 on aggregate, and Arsenal were knocked out of their second tournament in four days:

Next up for the Gunners is Everton in the Premier League on Saturday.

Barcelona, meanwhile, are through to the last eight and face Villarreal in La Liga on Sunday.

[Twitter]