Arsenal reached the UEFA Champions League last eight after beating Roma 7-6 on penalties, following a 1-1 aggregate draw on Wednesday at Stadio Olimpico. The London side won the first leg 1-0, therefore a Juan strike early in the first half for Roma sent the game into extra-time and then penalty shoot-out. Roma had the lion's share of the ball possession in the early minutes of the game, as they were looking for an early opener. Juan put the home side ahead on nine minutes with a close range effort. Arsenal redeemed themselves shortly after conceding the first goal. On 20 minutes, Robin Van Persie whipped in a curling corner-kick, but Wiliam Gallas' tame header was too easy to catch for Alexander Doni. The Gunners also had a host of free-kicks, but couldn't convert any. Late in the first period, Gael Clichy was subjected to a challenge by Rodrigo Taddei in the penalty area, but the referee didn't signal for a spot-kick. Early after the restart, Arsenal kept on trying to bring the score level, before the home side got the upper hand. Julio Baptista was close to doubling Roma's lead on 51 minutes when he tried to head home from close range, but he missed by a mile. The game's tempo was notably stepped up on the hour mark, but no clear-cut chances were carved out. England winger Theo Walcott came on as a substitute on 73 minutes in an attempt to bolster Arsenal's firepower. Baptista had a golden chance to ensure the Italian giants' lead, but he slipped when he tried to slide home from the edge of the box. Roma had a couple of real chances in the dying minutes, but the whistle was blown while both sides were equal on aggregate, and the extra time got underway later on. With Luciano Spalletti's piling up pressure upfront, the Premier League side tried to be dangerous on the counter-attack. Eight minutes from time, Walcott tried his luck, but his low shot was far from threatening. In the penalty shoot-out, Arsenal's Eduardo wasted the first shot when Doni easily saved it. But Roma lost their advantage when Mirko Vucinic squandered his shot in a similar way, before Max Tonetto missed to give Arsenal a quarter-finals berth.
