Donati admits Arsenal were the best side

Massimo Donati has admitted that Celtic were outclassed against Arsenal over the two legs of their UEFA Champions League qualifier.

The Hoops went down 5-1 on aggregate after losing 3-1 at Emirates Stadium on Wednesday in a game that was overshadowed by Gunners striker Eduardo’s dive that earned his side the opener from the penalty spot.

The Croatian international stepped up himself to put the tie beyond Tony Mowbray’s men much to the disgust of the Scottish side.

Donati has since called for Uefa to suspend Eduardo as a result of his behaviour but, after having time to reflect, the Italian midfielder, who scored a sensational consolation late on, conceded that the best team had progressed.

“We tried to play the ball around but Arsenal were just too good for us,” he said.

“We lost because Arsenal are one of the best teams in the world, in the last few years they have made the quarters, semis and final of the competition so we knew it would be hard.

“We tried our best but it wasn’t good enough and they were better than us. It was definitely not a penalty, he dived, but that is part of football and sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t.

“Arsenal are one of the best teams in the world but now all we can do is concentrate on the league and the Europa League as well.”

Despite failing to reach the group stages of the Champions League, the 28-year-old believes going straight into the Europa League offers some sort of consolation.

“It’s not nice to have failed to have qualified for the Champions League,” he added. “For a few years now we have made the group stages and we did well especially last season.

“It usually creates fantastic atmospheres in those matches but this year hopefully it will be the same in the Europa League.”