Match Report: Arsenal 0 FC Bayern 2 - Champions League - 19.02.14

When it comes to gallant failures, Arsenal have given us some brilliant exhibits. Ties against Barça, Milan and Bayern last year have all been a story of massive courage and no lack of skill, but in the end only disappointment. You can go all the way back to our only appearance in the the final of the Champions League, perhaps our gallant failure masterpiece, the most painful moment of all my time supporting Arsenal. Our CL story is the embodiment of always the bridesmaid, never the bride. This isn't a criticism, more a lament. A sadness that the story is once again repeating.

This review will be a little more brief than usual. I'm suddenly very busy with work and also had the misfortune of having to drive back from the game. Someone clearly looked down and said 'Aha! An Arsenal fan, close all the roads, bring all the traffic!'. It capped off a disappointing evening for me. Arsene Wenger sprung a surprise by starting Yaya Sanogo, in place of Olivier Giroud. The youngster impressed against Liverpool, but I don't think anyone saw this coming. I think the older of the Frenchman was probably left out for a few different reasons, including exhaustion and a slight dip in form. But I think the most prevalent reason is the recent problems in his personal life. Giroud seems to be a guy who needs support and an arm round him and I think this stuff will have shaken him up a bit. The rest of the team was pretty much expected.

Arsenal started like a house on fire. We really took control of the game and we had two good chances, first with Sanogo testing Neuer and then Santi Cazorla shooting when he should have crossed. Our big moment came when our pressure paid off and Özil showed brilliant skill to beat Boateng, who stuck out a leg and brought him down in the box. Penalty and, significantly, a yellow card. The chance was there to put a marker down, take the lead and give us the advantage our impetus deserved. Özil stepped up...and saw a poor penalty saved by Neuer. It felt like that moment took the wind out of our sails. It felt like we were going to pay for it. We did.

Szczesny had made a world class save three minutes in. However, when the ball was played over the top for Robben, the Polish keeper got his challenge wrong. Robben nicked the ball away, Szczesny caught his standing leg and the Dutchman went down as if Thor's hammer had been swung into his shin. It seemed as though that would be that, penalty. But the referee decided that tonight he wanted to try out his shiny red card and having already seen Gibbs forced off with injury, we were forced to haul Cazorla off for Fabianski. We'd missed a penalty, had our keeper sent off, been forced into two substitutions and it looked likely that we'd be an away goal down too. However, Alaba was kind enough to send his penalty wide, via the post.

Here's the debate. Both penalties were stonewall penalties. That much is clear. But why did one result in a red card and one a yellow? For me, if Szczesny goes, then Boateng also had to go. Remember, the 'last man' rule is a myth. The number of defenders is merely something that the referee is advised to take into account. The rule is denial of a clear goal scoring opportunity. When Szczesny tripped Robben, the winger had knocked the ball away from goal, at pace and Bacary Sagna chasing back to at least challenge Robben. Therefore it can't be a clear opportunity. When Boateng fouled Özil, the German had checked back from going away from goal to towards it. If he wasn't brought down, he'd have had a clear line to curl the ball into the far corner. Now, I think that the referee made the correct decision with our penalty and the wrong one with theirs. There was no need to send either player off, both warranted yellow cards and a penalty. You can argue the case either way for both, but come on. It's Arsenal v Bayern, the game has been fantastic so far, the last thing it needs if for a sending off. It's a shame and as ever, it was us on the receiving end. Again.

Arsenal’s only hope lay in somehow defending for the whole of the second half and somehow sneaking a 0-0. Against the best side in world football at this moment, it was an impossible task. I don’t think any team could stop Bayern with ten men. It was simply a matter of when, not if. To our credit, the boys gave it absolutely everything. They were faced with a situation where they were forced to defend for 45 minutes when they’re used to controlling possession and at the very least being on an even footing with an opponent. This was unfamiliar, gruelling stuff for our team and to a man, they gave it their all. In the end it was too much though. To be fair, Bayern had to produce a stunning strike to take the lead. In the 54th minute Bayern advanced down the left hand side, forcing Arsenal deep. After an exchange of quick passes, the ball was played to Toni Kroos, who smashed a first time, curling shot into the top corner from 25 yards. The the defence just couldn’t get out quick enough to block the effort and Fabianski could do nothing about it. It was a wonder goal and even worse, an away goal.

With Bayern scoring so early, the fear was that they would kick on and embarrass us. They were certainly keen to; I’m not sure Rafinha or Alaba left the Arsenal half for much of the second period. But despite the set back, our players kept working. There was no chance at all of an equaliser, Bayern had too many numbers and if we committed, we’d have almost certainly been torn apart on the counter. What was left was just to try and keep it to 0-1. Far from ideal, but it would have at least meant a 2-1 victory in Munich would have been enough. All things considered, it would have been a fairly good outcome. But again, it wasn’t to be.

We won a freekick up the pitch and Wilshere tried to float the ball in towards Koscielny. But as ever it came to nothing and Bayern immediately sensed an opportunity with one of our centre backs out of position. They came forward with pace and after knocking on the door for so long, they finally got the precious second. Pizzaro made a run that took Mertesacker out of position and Flamini failed to drop into the space, leaving a simple ball for Müller to convert with a diving header. You could see what it meant to them, they knew they’d struck the decisive blow. It’s not the first time that our relentless desire to score, even when the odds are so stacked against, has cost us. If we’d have played it safe from the free kick, we could have probably seen the game out at 0-1 and retained some hope. Now we face a pretty impossible task. Bayern will not make the same mistakes as last year. They will be looking to kill us off in Munich. Now we have to take stock, take the positives and move on with our challenge for the FA Cup and Premier League. I really believe we can do something special this year, I hope the players still do too.

Stat of the game

Bayern had a massive 79% possession.

Teams

Arsenal (4-2-3-1)
Szczesny (R), Sagna, Mertesacker, Koscielny, Gibbs (Monreal 31’), Flamini, Wilshere, Cazorla (Fabianski 39’), Özil, Chamberlain (Rosicky 74’ (Y)), Sanogo (Y)
Subs
Fabianski, Jenkinson, Monreal, Rosicky, Podolski, Gnabry, Giroud

Bayern (4-1-4-1)
Neuer, Lahm, Boateng (Y) (Rafinha 45’), Dante, Alaba, Martinez, Thiago (Pizzaro 79’), Kroos, Götze, Robben, Mandzukic (Y) (Müller 64’)
Subs
Van Buyten, Starke, Contento, Schweinsteiger, Rafinha, Pizzaro

Player Ratings

Szczesny - 5/10 - Made a stunning save, but then conceded the penalty
Sagna - 7/10 - Worked as hard as anyone and won a lot of headers
Mertesacker - 7/10 - Perhaps caught out for the second goal but overall played well
Koscielny - 7/10 - Difficult to fault, perhaps should have stayed back at the end though
Gibbs - 7/10 - Was brilliant until he picked up an injury, let’s pray it’s not serious
Flamini - 8/10 - Showed passion, leadership and grit
Wilshere - 7/10 - Getting a lot of unfair stick, but he worked as hard as the rest
Cazorla - 7/10 - Was having a great game until being sacrificed for Fabianski
Özil - 5/10 - Endured a torrid game, fluffed the penalty and unfortunately we paid for it
Chamberlain - 6/10 - Felt he could have made a huge difference 11v11, alas, not to be
Sanogo - 7/10 - Another impressive performance, looks a brilliant prospect
Subs
Fabianski - 7/10 - Impressive again, couldn’t do much about the goals
Monreal - 6/10 - Endured a gruelling game as Bayern focussed their attacks on the his flank
Rosicky - 6/10 - Not much he could do when introduced

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