Match Report – Match Highlights – Post-Match Press Conference
At half time, it was actually 1-1. The Gunners went into the break on the ascendancy, getting a deserved equalizer as well as two good chances late in the half that should have punished Bayern. We knew what was expected of us – a committed defensive performance and counter attacking football, as the team selection showed, with Alex Iwobi and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain producing some guile and width from the flanks to support Alexis Sanchez. I among other Arsenal fans was hoping for Mesut Ozil to have a good game as well as a strong performance from a well-rested Granit Xhaka.
The opening goal was quite avoidable and Francis Coquelin has to be blamed for allowing Arjen Robben brace himself up on his left foot before executing a sweet curler past a hapless David Ospina. Bayern dominated the game as expected, threading pass after pass and the Gunners looked so weak without the ball but when they sprung on the break, it was too devastating effect. Alexis Sanchez used his pace to evade Javi Martinez and got fouled right on the edge of the area. Ozil’s resulting free kick was tame but Manuel Neuer fluffed his lines and made a poor save but after a couple of ricochets, the ball went wide.
Arsenal got an equalizer when Laurent Koscielny was fouled in the box by Robert Lewandowski. Alexis stepped up and fired a poor penalty that was parried by Neuer but Alexis showed some determination to get a second bite at the cherry, leveling the contest for the Gunners. Granit Xhaka was clean through at the edge of the box after some good work from the Ox but his shot was fired straight at Neuer. Late on, Alexis found Ozil on the edge of the box but his shot was fired an angle and the German goalie was equal to the task.
Level at half time, the result favored Arsenal but the second half began on a very sad note with Koscielny suffering an injury, so he had to be substituted. In came the erratic Gabriel Paulista and just four minutes after Koscielny left the pitch, Arsenal conceded the second goal. Kieran Gibbs was left exposed on the left and a lofted cross was floated into the box. An aerially dominant keeper like Petr Cech would have gone to anticipate the ball and command his area, but in Ospina, you get the opposite. Ospina showed some indecision and stayed on his line as Lewandowski beat Mustafi on the air to head Bayern to the lead.
As if that wasn’t bad enough, Gabriel was ball watching as Lewandowski teed up Thiago Alcantara whose one timed drive was drilled past Ospina to make it 3-1. All the good work in the first half was undone. The team offered nothing going forward and Ospina had to be at his best to prevent the game from having a tennis scoreline. However, the much talked-about zonal marking was on the spotlight as the Arsenal defense were in sixes and sevens in trying to clear their lines, leaving an unmarked Thiago on the edge of the area whose shot was deflected via Xhaka into the net. Ox rounded a terrible night at the office by losing the ball in Arsenal’s danger area, which allowed Thomas Mueller to score his first goal in ages.
Bayern 5-1 Arsenal. An exact replica of the mauling the Gunners received in November 2015. After the game, Koscielny said that he didn’t know what went wrong but Wenger answered the captain, stating that the team lost their organisation and looked mentally jaded. He sure has a way with words. Simply put – Arsenal was cow dung and are out of the Champions League for the seventh season in a row.
This just goes to show how weak this team’s mentality is, especially at ‘big games’. It’s more concerning to know the team continues to struggle at away games, especially against big sides and this is quite embarrassing. As expected, there will be meetings and the players would start making some much fuss of how they’d bounce back and get better in the media.
We really have to get things right against Sutton United, since the FA Cup is the only realistic target.
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