Bayern Munich 5 Arsenal 1
From the moment that Robert Lewandowski exploited slackness in the Arsenal back line to score his 18th goal of the club season, Bayern Munich scented blood. The manner in which they went for the kill sent a message across Europe and left Arsenal nursing wounds that may prove terminal to their Champions League campaign.
For Arsène Wenger and his players, the requirement is now simple. They must beat Dinamo Zagreb and Olympiakos – most likely by two goals – in their remaining ties but even that might not be enough to ensure their passage into the knockout rounds for the 16th season in succession.
Bayern were irresistible, particularly in the first half when they added two to Lewandowski’s 10th-minute header and gave Petr Cech, the Arsenal goalkeeper, a comprehensive work-out. Their speed of movement and thought was too much for Arsenal and when it came allied to ruthless cutting edge, the result was one of the north London club’s most chastening European nights.
Bayern were relentless and when Thomas Müller supplemented the substitute Arjen Robben’s second-half goal at the very death, Arsenal were staring at their joint heaviest defeat in European competition. It ranked alongside the 4-0 loss at AC Milan in 2012. They could not get out of Bavaria quickly enough. The home team wanted revenge for the 2-0 defeat at the Emirates two weeks previously and they were determined, in the words of the midfielder, Arturo Vidal, to “show Arsenal the real Bayern”. Arsenal’s gameplan was to be compact at the back but that did not happen, with the cause undermined by yet more injuries.
Héctor Bellerín did not travel because of a groin problem but the pre-match shock was that Laurent Koscielny was not fit enough to start because of a slight hip issue. Koscielny did not come out for the pre-match warm-up and he wore a long zip-up jacket when he took his place on the bench, unlike the other substitutes, who were in tracksuits. The centre-half appeared to be a substitute in name only. In the fixture here in March 2014, Arsenal named only six substitutes after a administrative blunder over the seventh, Ryo Miyaichi.
Arsenal showed some personality at the outset this time, with plenty of their players showing for the ball and working it smartly. The tide turned dramatically, however, after they were guilty of the early defensive lapse that Wenger had been praying to avoid.
Koscielny’s replacement, Gabriel, stepped out as Thiago Alcântara crossed from the left in an attempt to catch Robert Lewandowski offside. He got his timing wrong, though, and, rather abruptly, the most dangerous striker in Europe was completely unmarked, in a central position, on the six-yard box. Lewandowski flicked his header inside the far corner.
Bayern’s formation when they did not have the ball was broadly the same as that of Arsenal but in possession, the positional interchanges and off-the-ball running was difficult to keep track of – and that was from a position in the stands. There were times when David Alaba, nominally the left-back, roamed like an auxiliary No10, with Thiago dropping over to cover him and there were switches across the line behind Lewandowski.
Arsenal thought that they had summoned an immediate response to Lewandowski’s goal when Mesut Özil somehow worked Nacho Monreal’s cross beyond Manuel Neuer. The officials, however, had spotted that the Germany midfielder had done so with the aid of a crafty swing of his elbow. Özil was booked.
Bayern went on the rampage for the remainder of the first half and the only relief for Arsenal was that the scoreline at the interval was not heavier.
Thomas Müller scored the second when he controlled a mis-hit shot from Kingsley Coman to lash inside Petr Cech’s near post and Alaba added the third with a vicious left-footed drive from outside the area. Cech was extremely busy and the pick of his first-half saves was the tip-over from Müller’s close-range poke on 43 minutes.
Wenger’s options on the bench looked threadbare; Bayern’s rather less so and Pep Guardiola was able to introduce Robben in the 54th minute. Thirty-seven seconds later, he had the ball in the net. Douglas Costa’s control from a sweeping crossfield ball was imperious; he played in Alaba and Robben arrived to lift his cross into the roof of the net. It was brutal in its simplicity.
The travelling Arsenal support resorted to gallows humour. "We're going to win 5-4," they chanted, and their team did fight on. Santi Cazorla broke through and he was denied by a fantastic block from Neuer before Olivier Giroud provided the lone moment of cheer. His was a marvellous finish. Having drifted in behind Medhi Benatia, who had just come on as a substitute, he controlled Alexis Sánchez's cross with his chest, pivoted and beat Neuer with a side-on volley. In other circumstances, it would have been a headline item. Here, it was the most academic of footnotes.
Robben was denied Bayern’s fifth by Cech, in a one-on-one but Müller scored it when he ran clean through to finish low inside the near post. Next up for Arsenal is the derby at home to Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday. They will need to shake their heads clear.
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