Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has revealed that he may never fully get over Arsenal's comprehensive 4-0 defeat to AC Milan.

The defeat was Arsenal's heaviest European loss ever, leaving the Gunners with the highly unlikely task of having to equal or better the result in the second leg in order to keep their Champions League dream alive.

However, while Wenger acknowledges that it is hard to get over such a resounding loss, he is keen to stress that his players just had an off day and should not dwell on it.

"It never gets out of your system because you take it with you until the last day of your life," said the Frenchman.

"You can find 100 explanations why we had a poor performance and an off day. We lost against a good Milan team, not an exceptional one. Unfortunately we were punished severely.

"It is important not to dwell on that too much, instead focus on the next performance, respond in a positive way and ensure we have the mental qualities to be at this club. We have put together a good series of results and we can consider that night was just an off day."

Arsenal must now turn their attention to the FA Cup, in which they will face Sunderland on Saturday.