Arsenal were poor and lost 2-1 on the night against a plucky Ostersunds side at the Emirates, but they still scraped through into the last 16 with a 4-2 aggregate victory.
Graham Potter's men deserve huge credit for putting in a battling display, especially being 3-0 behind going into the start of the second leg. But that also shouldn't hide the fact of how below par we were against our Swedish opponents. If we are to have any slim hope of winning this competition we need to massively up our game.
If we repeat this display in our next match - the Carabao Cup Final against Manchester City - the punishment will be more severe so we need to make sure we bring our A game to avoid being humiliated.
We really should have done far better than we did in the second leg and Ostersunds to their credit showed big improvement and took the game to us. After just four minutes Calum Chambers had to be alert to block Jamie Hopcutt's effort.
Arsenal never really got going as Alex Iwobi sent a shot off target before captain for the night Jack Wilshere saw his shot blocked by the defence.
David Ospina did well to parry Ken Sema's shot before re-gathering the ball at the second attempt, but the Colombian shot-stopper could do nothing about the two quick-fire goals that followed.
Within 69 seconds the Gunners' comfortable 3-0 aggregate lead was cut to just one goal. Hosam Aieshon latched onto a great through ball through the defence before running at goal and firing a shot in off Chambers. It was a very poor goal to concede.
The whole performance was disappointing, but I must give Ostersunds some credit for a very well taken second goal. The impressive Sema turned his marker inside the area before powering a quality finish in at the far post.
With less than 25 minutes of the second leg gone our previously comfortable lead was looking in danger of slipping away, but fortunately Curtis Edwards' long-range strike sailed wide.
Arsenal finally started to create more chances, but without causing too much trouble to Aly Keita in the Ostersunds goal. Welbeck's shot was blocked behind by the defence before the striker saw a header saved by Keita soon after. Wilshere also tried his luck before half-time, but the midfielder's half-volley flew over the crossbar.
Saman Ghoddos saw his free-kick comfortably saved by Ospina as Ostersunds ended the first half 2-0 up and only one goal behind on aggregate.
It was a massive relief when Sead Kolasinac, who was probably our main attacking threat on the night, calmed the nerves by reducing the deficit within two minutes of the restart. Ronald Mukiibi tried to clear a cross from Hector Bellerin, but instead missed the ball and Kolasinac was on hand to fire it home from close range.
Ostersunds nearly restored their two-goal advantage after a flick on by Hopcutt, but Ospina reacted quickly to save it before Mukiibi could get anything on the ball.
Arsenal were certainly not at their best, but they began to create some more chances as the second half wore on. Mohamed Elneny saw his strike excellently parried by Keita before the Ostersunds shot-stopper denied Welbeck and Kolasinac soon after.
As the game entered its final quarter there was still something of a nervousness about Arsenal and the tie wasn't out of sight just yet. Substitute Tesfaldet Tekie saw his long-range shot blocked by Chambers before Dino Islamovic's effort was deflected wide.
Iwobi shot high and wide late on as Arsenal continued to disappoint, but the Gunners nearly snatched a draw right at the death. Welbeck ran into the box and dragged the ball onto his left foot before seeing his shot well blocked by Keita.
Arsenal held on to progress into the last 16, but Wilshere summed up our evening perfectly after the game when he told the club's official website that "we were nowhere near good enough".
ROUND OF 16
If we repeat that second leg performance then our Europa League journey may well be just two more games away from ending.
Napoli suffered a surprise exit but, with the likes of Atletico Madrid, Borussia Dortmund, Lazio and Lyon still in the competition, it is going to be a huge ask if we are going to go all the way in the Europa League.
We are eight points off fourth-placed Chelsea in the Premier League, so our European adventure is definitely our best route for getting Champions League football next season, albeit it a very unlikely one.
But whilst there is still hope, no matter how faint, we mustn't give up, and we need to dramatically up our game in the next round.
Whoever we get in Friday's draw, it is going to be a difficult task in the round of 16 and we are too inconsistent to truly analyse our chances. One thing is for sure though, there is very little margin for error.
MY FINAL THOUGHTS
We did it with a whimper in the second leg, but qualification for the round of 16 was still assured.
We must now forget about it and regroup and put all of our focus into the Carabao Cup Final.
Admittedly it isn't as prestigious as the FA Cup, but it is still the chance of silverware. We will go into the game as massive underdogs and, if we perform like we did in the second leg against Ostersunds, Premier League leaders Manchester City will punish us big time!
Anything can happen in cup football, but City are a superb side so there will be very little margin for error and we will have to make sure we are at the top of our game to stand any kind of chance.
It is hard to see past a Manchester City win if I am being really honest, but it is a one-off cup final game and anything can happen and it will likely come down to who wants it more on the day.
Please Arsenal let it be you!
COME ON YOU GUNNERS
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