Arsenal: Cech, Debuchy, Mertesacker, Gabriel, Monreal, Coquelin, Cazorla, Ozil, Campbell, Alexis, Giroud
Subs: Macey, Gibbs, Chambers, The Jeff, Iwobi, Flamini, Koscielny (unfit)
Arsenal’s Champions League hopes hang by a thread after a 5-1 battering at the hands of Pep Guardiola’s Bayern Munich. Robert Lewandowski, Thomas Muller and David Alaba gave the home side a 3-0 lead at the break, Arjen Robben came off the bench to extend the lead before Olivier Giroud grabbed a handsome consolation. Muller completed the rout in the dying moments, completing his brace with a low finish after a fine break. The result, coupled with news that Olympiacos beat Dinamo Zagreb, means qualification is now out of the Gunners hands ahead of their final two games.
Team News
An already depleted squad was dealt a further blow in the hours before the game with Laurent Koscielny diagnosed with a hip problem that ruled him out. Gabriel partnered Mertesacker in the centre of defence as our stricken French defender took a place on the bench just to make up the numbers. He was joined there by the likes of Gibbs – not preferred to Joel Campbell despite rumours – and young Jeff ‘The Jeff’ Reine Adelaide. As expected Mathieu Flamini replaced Hector Bellerin on the right.
First Half
Arsenal knew they needed to keep it tight early on and they lured us all into a false sense of hope and security by looking pretty comfortable for nine minutes. The hosts were restricted to a couple of pot shots and we popped the ball around in neat little triangles around the midfield. For a brief moment thoughts of the Bernabeu in ’06 and the San Siro ‘08 flitted through my mind.
Naturally, that didn’t last. On ten minutes Thiago found space on the left edge of the area and curled a right foot ball to the far post where Lewandowski sprung the offside trap before applying a nifty header that skipped off the turf and inside the Cech’s far post. Replays showed that Gabriel had played the Pole onside.
Arsenal’s reaction to the setback was impressive…for all of 30 seconds. From the restart we engineered a fine move down the left that saw Mesut Ozil put the ball in the back of the net from a Monreal cross.
The German wheeled away in celebration while his compatriots in red moaned to the referee about a handball. The referee, after consultation with the numpty behind the goal, took the hint and disallowed the goal. Just to rub salt in, Ozil was booked. In fairness it did look like he used his elbow to convert the chance.
After that it was all Bayern. Lewandowski curled an effort that Cech parried for a corner and then moments later tested the Czech with a header from six yards. Ball retention was a major problem for the Gunners. Over and over and over we’d steal possession and promptly surrender it inside two awkward passes.
It wasn’t a major surprise that Bayern doubled their lead before the half hour mark, nor was it a bombshell that an Arsenal player applied the final touch to Muller’s shot as it crept inside Cech’s near post. The goal wasn’t pretty even before Mertesacker’s outstretched leg applied the mucky lipstick.
Cech denied Muller and Costa in the moments before half-time, but just when you thought we might escape without conceding a third we did exactly that. Alaba had been attempting pot shots all night and eventually found the top corner with aplomb. No deflection needed on this occasion.
Second half
It was more of the same in the second half for the beleaguered Gunners. Costa and Alaba combined to take Debuchy out of play and Robben, on just seconds earlier for Coman, poked the pull back into the top corner with his first touch.
At the other end Santi Cazorla and Nacho Monreal both broke through the Bayern defence after fine moves, but neither man could apply a finish matching the build-up.
With Bayern treating the game as won we started to pass the ball around nicely again. The boys in black and blue – it really is a god-awful kit – were further encouraged by the ‘olés’ of the travelling Gooner contingent. It was fun to hear given the circumstances…good on ‘em, why not try and enjoy yourself having fuelled up in Munich’s Hofbrauhaus?
There was more to cheer on 69 minutes as Olivier Giroud scored a barnstorming consolation. Taking a cross from Sanchez on his chest the Frenchman, in one swift motion, scissored an acrobatic volley past the stranded Neuer from ten yards out. It was nothing less than he deserved for a half decent showing in difficult circumstances. (4-1)
Cazorla missed a sitter, Alexis and Ozil indulged in some showboating (yes, really), Debuchy made a Bellerin-esque last-ditch tackle to deny Robben and Iwobi and Chambers came on for Giroud and Cazorla respectively.
In the dying moments Muller applied a lethal finish as Costa sprung a lightning quick break. Were the home side worth five goals? Probably. They’d done it to four other sides.
On a night when we were well and truly Mullered, saw our football Lewandowski well off piste and our players end up Lahms to the slaughter there was further bad news from Athens. Dinamo Zagreb had been up 1-0 at half-time against Olympiacos but went down to ten men after the break and lost 2-1 to a last minute winner. Should the Greeks draw with Bayern in their next game we’ll be scrapping for a Europa League place.
They’re kinda good aren’t they?
Kidding aside, we weren’t that bad, if it weren’t for Santi’s wellies we could’ve lost only by 2.
No shame losing to the eventual champions is there?
Sorry but we’re supposed to be a big club.
We are a big club
yes we are but they are bigger than us as well
We’re a big club? Is liverpoo still a big club?
big clubs won at least 1 ucl cup.
We lost 3-5 on aggregate. That’s not bad at all Imo. But I like this bunch of players, mental strength and all that. Now it’s time for the ‘angry’ Arsenal to take it out in NLD.
Excuses a small club like spuds should be making. No big team should accept getting beaten 5-1.
Good amount of shame losing to Olympiacos and Dinamo Zagreb. One at home no less.
Bayern won’t win the CL…they actually weren’t very good today. We just capitulated spectacularly.
what game were you watching?!?! Bayern were class; we couldn’t get the ball from them and they created enough chances to have 10 goals.
No doubt that Bayern are good but the moments we switched on we were as good as they are. Mertesacker’s verdict is correct. We lost due to lack of courage.
Santi?!
Possibly the best player in the Premier who should score goals but doesn’t?
Love you, wee man, but here’s to finding your shooting boots…
Players were technically in Munich, they left their balls in London though.
Good one.
Cazorla seems just like Arteta when he was moved back. Suddenly he doesn’t know where the goal is.
Ouch…
Debuchy thinking anything Bellerin can do, I can do better with that like-for-like challenge on Robben at the end.
Fantastic run!
Cech 1 v 1 robben and yet again I was confident. Surely a signing that will help us get the much awaited PL.
Even if we go out of the champions league as long as we win the league me thinks tha would be atleast a decent season.
I hope you fucking injury gods are proud of your foolish selves. Damn you I say.
You my good sir, should be knighted
Really sucks that Olympiacos got a last minute winner as well… Last thing I want is for the Europa league to impact on our ruin in the league!
If it comes to that, send the kids to the Europa League, and we’ll win the EPL.
Indeed. Losing to Bayern by a big score can happen to the best (just ask Barcelona). But Olympiakos scoring another last minute winner really sucks. Although it’s our own fault for losing to them and Zagreb if we go out, of course.
Then again, getting a point in Munich won’t be easy for them either, and winning games they don’t really need to win is pretty much the order of the day for Bayern.
We miss Walcott, Kos and Bellerin
And Ramsey. And Welbeck. And Wilshere. And….
Depleted squad just didn’t have enough. Hopefully we’ll bounce back against the spuds this weekend.
The amount of goal scoring and goal creating opportunities we messed up makes it clear: that cup kit is the kryptonite to our supermen. Burn it and let it never be seen ever again!
The equivalent of burning it is going out in every cup we’re in so we don’t have to use it.
I hope we don’t wear it in the FA cup, I’d like to win it for the third time in a row.
It’s ironically the Emirates FA Cup now, “All arsenal win these days is the Emirates Cup”
If memory serves me right, only 3 teams have won the FA Cup twice in a row and we have the chance of being the first to win it thrice… I was one of those going apeshit about ditching the FA Cup in favour of the PL 2 seasons ago but, I’m kinda in 2 minds about whether I’d prefer to win the PL or FA Cup this year if it came down to a choice… Anyway, we’re not as reliant on the money from CL progression anymore. Blood the kids in the remaining games. Avoid Europa. Smash the Spurms.… Read more »
Then we get to keep it
As bas as this was the result in Greece was worse.
No longer in control. Have to win out. And overturn to the GD to Olympiakos.
I’m sure bayern will bear olymiacos, and at the least game win against them with two goal difference and we are trough
We wore that horrible blue kit against Sheffield Wednesday, and we wore it again tonight. We should never, ever wear it again.
Holy jesus… Worst I had in mind for tonight would have 2-1…. But that was a bit painful. Lovely goal from Olivier.
Fuck!! Let’s win against zabreb and olympiakos and hope olympiacos dont get a point at Bayern. Didn’t catch the game but looks like we missed Ramsey and Bellerin. Hope they dont pick up any more injuries.
Oooh. So thats why Campbell is 7th choice. Oh well. Bring on Saturday.
It really hit me how fucked up the injury problem is when the commentator announced Campbell starting due to injuries to; Ramsey, Wilshere, Welbeck, Walcott, Oxlade-Chamberlain, and Rosicky
Fucking Olympiakos
why blame olym, blame the old fool who responsible for our defeat to olym before.
olym just fight their arses.
Right, here’s hoping Wenger realises this competition is gone (for yet another season) and he just plays kids from now on. The league is where it’s at for us this term.
Still rather we go through. I think Europa league football could be a killer for our league form.
It’s not gone. Not even sure if it’s unlikely. It’s just not in our hands and we’ve been terrible in Greece the last few times we’ve played there. In fact, save for the win in Munich a couple of seasons back, it seems like we’ve generally been poor away in the CL for several years.
I don’t want us to play on Thursdays…..
:'(
That’s the only scenario I want us to avoid!
Fuck it. Whatever. Hope City and the Chavs make it all the way to the quarters and tire themselves out, the lose horribly.
That Giroud goal was fucking tidy though.
And another fucking thing. EVERY time the media gets all ‘Ooooh, Arsenal could maybe do this’ we get fucking hammered. Just shut up and hate us so we can win nicely.
Probably should go to bed.
I wonder how many years I am as a gooner have to wait to see Arsenal ever lifted the UCL trophy?
until wenger gone?
Did we have a clean bill of health? That is all that matters.
Hope we take out the frustration on our opponents on Sunday.
Meanwhile, we will still qualify 2nd; trust me.
Mathieu Flamini replacing Bellerin would be rather unexpected, actually. Not that I’m sure he would have been all that much worse, mind you…
remember Flamini as a LB for 10 clean sheets in a row in 2006 CL?
Should be contextualized with: remember the 22-23 year old Flamini as LB.
Ouch.
Olympiakos getting that winner hurt more than the five goals, though, I’m afraid.
Best to look forward. Bring on sp*rs. COYG
Eh, no shame losing to the best team in the world right now. Dortmund are arguably at our level and Bayern did them 6-1. I’m more concerned about the injuries: It’s just stupid ridiculous at this point.
Best team in the Whaaaa? Bayern? Uh…no
Sign me arsene.
We aint good enough to go any further in the CL, don’t deserve it and don’t have the squad.
If we end up in the Europa League we should swallow our pride and go for it.
We are good enough, but you’re right that we don’t deserve it due to the first 2 games.
Odd game. It looked as if everything was coming off for Bayern as there was no pressure on the 50/50’s. I think we could have nicked a couple of goals in the first few minutes… What a goal by HFB though. We really lacked pace on the counter attack. I don’t really care too much for this game though, I really feel we can win the league and I think we should be focusing on that.
This is what happens when you’re in an injury crisis and you play top opposition.
I don’t know of Wenger put too much faith in Shad Forsythe but the lack of depth is shocking
Well, if 10 players are missing there’s not much the manger can do.
I guess even Bayern would have struggled with so many players out
I’m sorry but I don’t buy that, I really don’t. Who could of foreseen 10 injuries? You know who…ALL OF US. When we are a team who have a history of injury crises as we do, Wenger really should made allowances and brought a bit more depth in.
So which top class players do you think we should have got, that would have been happy to only play when we have 7+ injuries to our squad?
Squad rotation?!
No ones asking for top class, just decent squad players.
That argument doesn’t stack up! Why would we buy a top class player and make him 7th choice! Campbell was way down the pecking order not because the manager didn’t trust him! Look at the other side – if we had a top class player Alexis wouldn’t be playing every game while nursing an injury! A top class player would have been fighting with Ramsey for a start on the right! We had the money, the space in the squad, as well as players in the treatment room when the transfer window was open. The choice was either to leave… Read more »
OK, I’ll re-phrase the question, which top class players were available and are/were prepared to fight for a 1st team place rather than be ‘pretty much’ assured of a 1st team place in other teams.
How many injuries do you forsee for February? We’d better send Wenger a memo. We should also send him a list of which players we should sign in the transfer window.
This negativity towards the manager is tiring. We are joint first place in the league and every single team in europe is expected to lose in Munich.
Don’t be ridiculous, if your an Arsenal fan and you can honestly say that you’re surprised by the amount of injuries we have then you’re mental mate.
I’m not surprised by the injuries, I’m surprised by your whining.
The probability of having this many simultaneous injuries at some point during the season is very high, that’s why it’s not surprising.
I’m surprised because for the first time in years we actually look like we can win the league.
Our problem goes beyond the sheer number of injuries and into the insane coincidences of just who gets injured at the same time. Now it isn’t just the 7+ injuries, but the fact that it is pretty much everyone who could do a job in right midfield/wing injured at the same time. We could even have converted Hector back into an emergency winger, but…… Remember this is the club that has had all 4 fullbacks injured at the same time, and 4 center backs at another. Its these kind of focused injury lists that no club has the depth to… Read more »
Well if you’re expecting players who are regularly injured to provide your depth then maybe to should replace them.
Rosicky, Wilshere, Arteta, Walcott, The Ox and even Ramsey are regularly injured, pick three you’re prepared to carry in the squad and replace the other 3 with players with a better injury record.
Problem solved.
No worries, bring on the Spuds! (We haven’t won the thing ever, so one more year of not winning is ok imo)
Premier League for us this season!
COYG!
I think I’m the only person that wouldn’t mind a stab at the Europa. We’d go into the last 32 and then it’s just 5 games to win the thing. People are making out like it would be some huge campaign of something.
5 rounds I meant, woops.
We’d play home and away except for the finals, so it would be nine games. And some potentially very long trips on Thursday nights….
Yeah to be fair we would be travelling to some right dodgy far off places. Still would rather a run in the Europa then the FA Cup.
Only 2 more games than reaching the UCL final. And personally think we are out now and will have to play in the Europa. Why not go for it? Many of the wounded will be back come the new year and if managed right we could win it. On a side note don’t buy into the many opinions on here that tonight doesn’t matter because it was Bayern. Personally think losing 5-1 is a fucking disgrace. We are joint top of the league and England’d form team of 2015. Losing in that manner was shameful or has the Prem League… Read more »
Is it as big a disgrace when Ramsey, Walcott, Koscielny and Bellerin were missing from our line up today? That’s 4 out of our starting 11 missing. Add to that that our backups in Oxlade Chamberlain, Wilshere, Rosicky and Welbeck were all missing as well and we we had folks like Iwobi and Jeff on the bench in a CL match against Bayern shows the extent of our squad depletion at the moment. I don’t call that a disgrace, I call it a victim of circumstance. Mind you, questions might need to be asked on squad management given the breadth… Read more »
Yeah lets go for the Europa. Pfft.
By the time we will be done there we will have no bodies to put up a xi in the league.
Hahaha true.
So I wonder who’s injured after tonights game?
Seven games – 2 x round of 16, 2 x quarters, 2 x semis, final. I’d still like to see us have a go at it if we’re in it and not just give up from the off. But better than that, I’d like to see us beat Olympiacos and Dinamo (Olympiacos by two goals or more), and Bayern to beat Olympiacos, so that we qualify for the CL knock-out phase. That’d be much better. And it’s not completely out of the question. If we and Bayern both win our next matches, then it all comes down to the trip… Read more »
Europa League has a round of 32…
Wengers leaving the Champions League for his final season as Arsenal Manager next year!!
UCL qualification Still possible. A win on Sunday and then we get back on the fast lane.
Bayern dont have the best defence in Europe. They just keep the ball so much that opposition can’t even test them. We looked anytime we stringed anything together.
A hiding couldn’t be avoided am afraid not with our spate of Injuries anyway.
*dangerous
You have to do your business at home first before take a shot at the big one.
Let’s run away with the league this season then come next year as Champions of England walloping everyone in our path. COYG
Fair play to Bayern. They totally outplayed us today and, with our injury list the way it is, I think we all suspected the match may end like this. No shame in losing to who I believe will the Champions League winners this year (although preferably by not such a large margin). I do, however, think there were a lot of positives today – I thought Debuchy put it in a shift, especially with that last ditch tackle on Robben, Coquelin was really good and Giroud had some outstanding hold up play. We can definitely take comfort in the fact… Read more »
5-1 lost with style and quality ? You are being sarcastic, right ?
Deluded beyond human belief. You keep praising those 5-1 defeats. Gazidis loves fans like you.
Maybe being out of the CL in the early stages will be a good thing for our- less injury risks and gives us the ability to focus on the league with our big stars not being knackered from mid-week clashes
coyg
Well, except that being in the Europa league is like being in the champion’s league except much, much worse.
OOOOOooooh shit.
How is it possible to lose 5-1 on not actually play poorly… Not overly mad at the players themselves
Debuchy, Mertesacker and Gabriel all made ridiculous errors on each goal.
Cazorla lost many tackles but not for lack of effort or trying
Sanchez lost the ball numerous times but never gave up and stopped
Thought Ozil and Giroud were actually pretty good….Very weird game
I grudgingly admit that we were just taken apart by a superior side without our most important players, specially for this type of opponent.
Strange Ozil didn’t try to head that ball in!
Could have been… well bring on the NLD
he would have had to slow time down to get his head on that. as good as he is, that’s one technique he has not mastered that………..yet.
What is the thinking behind taking off our two attacking players (Campbell and Giroud) and replacing them with Gibbs and an inexperienced teenager?
Saving them for a match in which we actually have a shot
Seems logical to me
Maybe recognizing the game was lost and protecting them for the NLD.
From my perspective the game wasn’t lost until we decided it was. The times we responded I think we looked good. Good enough to at least force a win on aggregate. Correct me if I’m wrong but wouldn’t the away goal rule have meant that if we finished 4-2 we would have won? If so, why then sub two attacking players who’ve both played well after we’ve just scored 4-1? OK, we have other fish to fry and the CL isn’t the end of the world but I’m still annoyed. I think we could have gotten something out of this… Read more »
Aggregate doesn’t work like that in the group stages. If at the end of the stage we are drawn on points with Olympiakos, our head to head record against them decides. If that is even (which it would have to be), then our aggregate against Olympiakos decides. If that is even, then away goals come into play. At this point, Bayern must beat Olympiakos, we need to beat Zagreb, and we need to win by at least 2 points away to Olympiakos to secure 2nd.
So we could still have made it a draw with 4-2?
naive or genius?
4 missing first team players against the best team in Europe, and this is what you get.
Scary that they were missing Ribery and Gotze and had Robben and Vidal on the bench. One hell of a team.
Ribery is finished though.
I’d take him for a couple of seasons as back up/experienced mentor for Alexis!
We had three chances to create a scoring opportunity in the first 6 minutes. sloppy passing and don’t get me started on the HFB’S shot….!!
That blue fucking kit…
Ain’t even mad
I feel so ambivalent about this season’s Champions League, part of me wants the team to just pull the eject lever and drop out and focus on chasing the domestic double
The last loss of this season out of the way then! The double here we come! #coyg
Anyone counted how many times Owen Hargreaves said 1v1? It’s time BT get rid of “Michael Owen Hargreaves”, both shit commentators.
I don’t care how good Bayern are, we beat them at home. I support Arsenal, i don’t expect or accept such a heavy defeat in a very important game. Not happy, but i expected us to lose this one, only by a goal or 2 tho. For me, i dont want to qualify for the europa league, so if bayern dont hammer Olympiacos, and we dont win both or games and qualify, and get europa, i hope Wenger plays youngsters in the europa league. For i dont want Arsenal taking spurs european competition seriously. Its only a distraction from the… Read more »
I wish we could play like this when we were “angry”. Such a sloppy display. And Debuchy is officially shit. Excited for his departure and the return of Jenko. Now time to focus on the cunts across town. COYG!
I really can’t see Olympiacos getting anything in Munich other than a good hiding, so we ain’t out of it just yet.
Just got to get back in the groove and wallop the spuds at the weekend. COYG!
Also can someone please please please retire that awful kit!
I knew that we’d lose, but I didn’t think that we wouldn’t bother to turn up. This game perfectly demonstrated just why we’ll never win the Champions’ League under Wenger. Where was the fight, the hunger and the passion? Yet again in Europe here was was another unacceptable performance. Yes, I know we were playing probably the best club side in the world, but we made it so easy for them. Did we have a midfield? If so how come the didn’t produce on single decent tackle? Where was the bite? The pressing? Why didn’t we try to make it… Read more »
Back in your box!
No! Under Wenger we’ll always be just average; that’s all he does these days: produce average sides.
Please let’s not blame injuries for this performance; it was lacklustre rubbish.
Where have you been Fats?
Fats…. “You only post when we’re losing, you only post when we’re losing”…and your hatred towards Le Prof is like he jilted you at the altar… if I’m honest in my thoughts…?
Not true Paul. He does post when we win and it’s the same fucking defeatist drivel then as it is now. Say what you like about The Fat One, but come rain or shine he is consistently negative.
lay of the fatso , ya fatso.
Yeah, just look at that goal by Giroud…amateurish to the max. To DA FUCKIN MAXXX!!!
And that run by Debuchy that denied Robben an open goal…lacklustre. So average!
How we beat them in the game before I’ll never know? Can you tell us how they managed that, oh Fat One?
It was a wierd game, although we had no possession we had chances, and I’m sure that if we had Kos, Hector and one of Theo or Aaron we would have won that. They’re a very good team but so are we, it’s the injuries and lack of depth it causes that’s the problem. I think we turned up and tried hard, but we were trying so hard not to lose we weren’t sharp enough, and Bayern were onto every weakness. It was a hard task for our Gunners and the scoreline isn’t good, but to call them limp and… Read more »
I expect you “knew we’d lose” to them in the home game too, until we didn’t. It’s easy to be wise after the event.
There’s never a result so bad that FG can’t make it worse.
We all said you would be back when we lose one…so predictable Fats
Do we really want Europa league though…?
Tell you what though, there’s something about Robben that does my fucking head in. Absolute bellend.
Let’s just smash the Spuds and everything will be well with the world again.
Özil is pure class. Really think he could get into that Bayern team without much trouble. We’re lucky to have him.
Comment: You won’t get away with such horrific injury list against the big teams. I guess the game was almost lost before kick off. If a team like Bayern is getting players back from injury and Arsenal’s list only keeps growing, the results will eventually show.
LET’S SHOW SPURS THE WORKING PRINCIPLES COME SUNDAY.
I’m 100% certain we will make it to the knock out stages. We will win both games inclu against Olympiacos with a required goal margin. Pep being Wenger’s mate will defo beat Olympiacos for us..so cheer up gooners it’s not all doom and gloom.
*scrapping to AVOID a Europa League place.