LONDON, March 14: Bayern Munich barely staved off an improbable comeback on Wednesday and almost saw their Champions League hopes go up in smoke as a 2-0 loss at home to Arsenal meant the Gunners lost their last-16 tie on away goals to leave England without a team in the quarter-finals for the first time since 1996.

Joining Bayern in the quarter-finals are debutants Malaga who continued their fairytale campaign among Europe’s elite as they overturned a first-leg deficit by beating 10-man Porto 2-0 at their Rosaleda Stadium on a memorable night for the Qatar-owned club which helped Spain’s representation in the last-eight rise to three.

Having outplayed Arsenal 3-1 at the Emirates Stadium in the first-leg in north London three weeks ago, Bayern had been odds on favourites to finish the Gunners off at the Allianz Arena in Munich.

But Arsenal took the fight to their German hosts with Olivier Giroud giving them an early lead in the third minute and hope of becoming only the third team ever to advance in the knockout stage after losing the first-leg at home.

Laurent Koscielny took Arsenal tantalisingly close to an unlikely recovery when he headed in the second in the 86th to set up a frantic finish but they failed to grab the third goal that would have sent them through with the tie ending 3-3 on aggregate.

“Our second goal came a bit too late,” Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said. “Bayern were nervous but we paid the price for not playing well in the first-leg. It hurts very much but the positives are the performance and the spirit.”

Wenger said that the fact there were no more English clubs remaining in the competition should transmit a powerful message to the Premier League.

“It’s a massive disappointment for English football, a massive wake up call,” said Wenger. “The rest of Europe has caught back. We have to take that into consideration when we consider the future of the Premier League.”

This is the third time in three seasons Arsenal have exited after the Round of 16 in the Champions League, while Bayern join Bundesliga rivals Borussia Dortmund in the last-eight.

“We should be lucky to have gone through,” said Bayern CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge. “We did not find our rhythm in the first-half and had problems in the midfield. But we are through to the next round and that is the most important thing.”

Bayern remain on course for three trophies. They are 20 points ahead in the Bundesliga and are also in the semi-finals of the German Cup.

Malaga had Isco, with a terrific strike, and a header from veteran Roque Santa Cruz to thank, although Porto, 1-0 up after the first-leg, were not helped by the sending off of Belgian Steven Defour early in the second-half.

Paraguay striker Santa Cruz, on-loan from Manchester City, headed home from a corner on 77 minutes soon after coming on a substitute to secure Malaga’s passage after playmaker Isco, who won the ‘Golden Boy’ trophy as the best Under-21 player in Europe last season, had levelled the tie with a fine strike two minutes before half-time.

Malaga joined Barcelona and Real Madrid in the last eight, showing the strength of Spanish football once again.

“It really has been a strange year for us,” said Malaga coach Manuel Pellegrini, who took Villarreal to the semi-finals in 2006.

“What characterises the players is their desire to stay focused on their sporting ambitions. I always said that Malaga were not in the Champions League just to make up the numbers.”

Paris St Germain, Juventus and Galatasaray complete the line-up for the quarter-final draw which takes place in Nyon on Friday. The final is at Wembley stadium on May 25.

Results: Bayern Munich 0    Arsenal 2 (Bayern win on away goals after 3-3 on aggregate) Malaga 2    Porto 0 (Malaga win 2-1 on aggregate)—Agencies