Garath McCleary's 54th minute goal cancelled out Alex Sanchez's first -half opener to send the tie to extra time.

But an Adam Federici howler when he let a weak Sanchez shot roll through his legs in the 105th minute gifted the Gunners their victory and denied Royals a place in their first ever FA Cup final.

However, Clarke refused to pin any blame on the Aussie keeper, who had made a string of fantastic saves during the course of 120 nailbiting minutes.

Royals' boss said: "Adam is understandably distraught, but this is the life of a goalkeeper.

"He is one of our top three players of the season and there is a good chance he will be out Player of the Season this year.

"He's been absolutely crucial for this football club. We stick by him and we didn't lose because of him.

"The players understand his worth to the squad and the supporters understand how important he is to this club.

"He's a strong character and he will take his disappointment on the chin. I'm sure he'll be just as good as he always is."

Reading FC, roared on by 33,000 boisterous fans, were more than a match for their illustrious Premier League opponents and current FA Cup holders.

They created numerous chances and could have won a penalty when Hal Robson-Kanu's cross struck Mathieu Debuchy on the hand.

However, Arsene Wenger's Gunners also struck the post through Aaron Ramsey in a pulsating semi-final clash.

Clarke admitted: "My first emotion is disappointment because I really thought we would win. I think our performance showed why I had that belief.

"Tactically we were spot on. Everyone thought we would come here and camp in and try to defend, defend and defend.

"But we had a real go. At certain stages in the game I thought we were the better team against a side as good as Arsenal."

And he also paid tribute to the thousands of Reading FC fans who created a wall of noise throughout the game.

"The fans were behind the team from start to finish and they can go home proud," he said. "It was great to see them all there.

"Nobody can be negative because every player gave their all for Reading Football Club."