Arsene Wenger conceded Arsenal have only a small chance of reaching the Champions League knock-out rounds after defeat to Bayern Munich on Wednesday night.
The Gunners were hammered 5-1 in Germany and sit bottom of Group F having lost three of their opening four pool matches.
But Arsenal can take heart from the fact seven teams have previously qualified for the latter stages of the competition despite taking three points or fewer from their opening four games and here, we take a look at how each side achieved it.
ROSENBORG - 1996/97
Things started well for the Norwegian champions with victory over the border against Gothenburg, but defeat to AC Milan and back-to-back losses to Porto left Nils Arne Eggen's side with a tough task to advance. They managed it by completing the double over Gothenburg and then recording a 2-1 win over Milan at the San Siro - with Vegard Heggem scoring the decisive goal.
LYON - 2000/01
Lyon's debut in the Champions League group stages started with a win against Heerenveen before three defeats on the spin left them in a precarious position. But another victory over their Dutch opponents in Holland, with goals from future Fulham pair Steed Malbranque and Steve Marlet, plus a 1-0 success at home to Olympiacos was enough to edge Jacques Santini's side through on goal difference.
NEWCASTLE AND LOKOMOTIV MOSCOW - 2002/03
Sir Bobby Robson's Newcastle lost their opening three Group E games before staging an amazing comeback to progress. Andy Griffin's goal was enough to beat Juventus before Dynamo Kiev were seen off, with Craig Bellamy's stoppage-time winner against Feyenoord in Rotterdam taking the Magpies through.
Lokomotiv took just one point from their first four matches but back-to-back wins over Galatasaray and Club Brugge completed a turnaround that saw them join Newcastle in the second group phase.
PORTO - 2004/05
Defending champions Porto scored just one goal in the opening four matches of their defence, leaving them languishing on two points. But Benni McCarthy's winner at CSKA Moscow gave them a glimmer of hope before a comeback victory over a Chelsea side managed by their former boss Jose Mourinho proved enough for the Portuguese outfit to sneak through by a point.
STUTTGART - 2009/10
Three draws and a defeat looked set to put paid to Markus Babbel's side's hopes of reaching the next phase back in 2009. But a victory over Rangers at Ibrox followed by a win over Romanian outfit Unirea Urziceni just three days after Babbel had been replaced at the helm by Christian Gross saw them finish second behind Sevilla in Group G.
MANCHESTER CITY - 2014/15
The most recent example of a slow-starting side managing to turn it around is Manchester City. Manuel Pellegrini's side started their Group E campaign with two draws and two defeats last season. A Sergio Aguero hat-trick - including a stoppage-time winner - at home to Bayern Munich gave them their first win before an impressive display at Roma saw them leave the Stadio Olimpico with another three points and a place in the knock-out rounds.
Source: PA-WIRE
