MANUEL ALMUNIA has launched a scathing attack on Arsenal's players — accusing them of a lack of effort during their Champions League defeat to Barcelona.

The Gunners succumbed to a 3-1 defeat at the Nou Camp on Tuesday night but just one more goal would have seen them progress to the quarter-finals on the away goals rule.

Danish striker Nicklas Bendtner missed a glorious chance with just four minutes remaining — one of the few opportunities Arsene Wenger's men managed to create in the contest.

However, despite that chance, Arsenal failed to register a single shot on Barca's goal — becoming the first side in Champions League history to do so.

And Spanish goalkeeper Almunia, who was one of the Gunners' better performers against Pep Guardiola's team, hit out at some of his team-mates following their exit.

He said: "Barcelona bossed us and in the second half we had players that were not running.

"We only needed one goal and with a bit more effort we could have caused them damage at the end.

"Even at 3-1, we only needed one goal and, well, you can't understand how there can be players that were walking. We were tired.

"It seemed that everything was lost but you can score a goal at any moment. So the only explanation I have is that we were so tired and the players couldn't give any more.

"And down to 10 men, it was double the effort. We came up against a Barcelona side that are the best in the world."

Arsenal defender Thomas Vermaelen has confirmed he will not return from injury this month, and doesn't know when he will play again.

The Belgian, who has been hampered by a persistent Achilles problem picked up on international duty last August, had been expected to return this month following surgery in January.
But the 25 year-old has now admitted he will not return in March, and his absence will further trouble Arsene Wenger as the Gunners enter a vital part of their season.
"It will not be in March. I'm not even yet back in training," Vermaelen told The Sun.
"This is a tough time for me. I don't know when I will be able to play again."

According to a report on Polish website Sport.pl, Arsenal goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny is facing a minimum of four to six weeks on the sidelines after tearing a tendon in his finger during Tuesday’s Champions League showdown with Barcelona.

The diagnosis could yet be worse for the Gunners with the young Pole facing up to the prospect of being out for the rest of the season should medical staff in North London decide that surgery is required. Both scenarios leave Arsene Wenger seriously short of cover in the goalkeeping position.

Although Spaniard Manuel Almunia is ready to step into the breach as the club’s number one, following a remarkable season which has seen him move up and down and back up the pecking order, the options for back-up will be a subject of concern for Gunners boss Arsene Wenger.

In addition to Lukasz Fabianski being ruled out for the season with a shoulder inury, Vito Mannone is currently sidelined at loan club Hull City after sustaining a problem on Saturday. Academy graduate James Shea, who recently signed a new deal at the Emirates, has been recalled from a loan spell at Southampton but is also recovering from a slight knock.

The desperate scenario means that Arsenal could call upon 18-year-old Argentine youngster Damien Martinez to sit on the bench at Old Trafford when the Gunners face Manchester United in this weekend’s FA Cup showdown.

The Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has broken his self-imposed media black-out to speak about Arsenal’s title challenge. Man United, as a club, decided to stop speaking to the media before the 3-1 loss to Liverpool because they did not like how Ferguson’s post-match comments about referee Martin Atkinson were reported after the Chelsea game, which the Red Devils lost 2-1.

But Ferguson has broken the silence to speak about Arsenal, reports ESPN. He said of the Gunners: “Last season they faded around the February to March period to leave Chelsea and ourselves in a two-horse race that saw us pipped at the post by a point”.

Ferguson was surprised to see Arsenal beat expectations once again. He said: “I think most pundits expected to see something similar this season, plus a challenge from Spurs and Manchester City to make it even more difficult for Arsenal to get back up to the top”

He continued: “But Arsène Wenger and his players have rearranged the pecking order somewhat to come storming through to lie in second place. Clearly they represent the main danger to us achieving our ambitions in a revival of the rivalry of a few years ago, and I am sure they regard us as the major threat to their hopes”.

Manchester United face Arsenal in the quarter-final of the FA Cup on Saturday at OldTrafford.

Cesc Fabregas admits he played most of Arsenal's UEFA Champions League defeat in Barcelona in pain.

The Gunners skipper was named in the starting XI at Camp Nou, despite worries over his hamstring, but was unable to prevent a 3-1 defeat and 4-3 aggregate exit for Arsene Wenger's side.

And now he has confirmed that he aggravated the injury just 15 minutes into the match, but he played on for as long as he could before being substituted in the second-half.

"It was a shame because I felt really good to start with," he told TVE.

"But after 15 minutes I felt a pain and I knew it was over for me.

"The desire to play allowed me to continue and get through but then I had to change."

Arsenal are now awaiting news of scans to the injury, but reports claim that their skipper has already been ruled out of this weekend's FA Cup clash at Manchester United.