Coupled with an Olympiakos victory over Dinamo, the Gunners have their work cut out, but still have a glimmer of a chance.
Tonight’s game was brutal with Bayern scoring early through Robert Lewandowski, who was “marginally” onside (I felt the replay was a little incomplete and I wanted to watch it again).
Arsenal almost equalized right away when Ozil deflected a Monreal cross home. The goal was disallowed for a handball by the goal line official.
Bayern doubled their lead through Thomas Mueller. His shot ricocheted off Mertesacker’s leg and left Cech with no chance.
Alaba then scored a third just before halftime and the game was essentially over.
Arsenal had a few chances, but they would squander them or just lack composure in the box.
Bayern scored a fourth through Robben, his first touch of the game.
Arsenal finally scored when Giroud collected a lovely cross from Alexis and volleyed past Neuer. Giroud has Neuer’s number (I believe it’s the fourth time his scored on Neuer) and the German looked quite peeved.
Bayern completed the rout when Mueller found the corner of the net past a bemused Petr Cech.
Arsenal now need Bayern to hammer Olympiakos, us to hammer Dinamo, and then to win in Athens. Possible, but challenging.
Player Ratings:
Cech 6: He made several excellent saves, but was largely retrieving balls from the back of the net. Couldn’t really be blamed for any of the goals, but he will probably feel he could have done better on the last goal, which he might have thought was going out and then it curved back in.
Debuchy 5: A tough night at the office. His wing was often under siege and he could have done better a number of times. His best moment of the night was his challenge on Robben in the box. Full marks for getting the ball and then dumping Robben.
Mertesacker 5: His lack of pace was a problem a number of times. Could’ve challenged Mueller more aggressively on his first goal.
Gabriel 4: I suspect we would have been better with Koscielny. Gabriel was slow to move upfield and Lewandowski would score. He didn’t challenge Alaba and Mueller on their goals as he should have. Was a little shaky on the ball as well.
Monreal 6: He had to deal with Costa, Mueller, Lahm and Robben. He had some good moments and some not good moments defending this quartet of superstars. Alexis didn’t provide as much help as he usually does and that made it difficult. He had a chance to score in the second half, but he stumbled in the box.
Coquelin 6: Struggled to make an impact. The dike was leaking in too many places. He had a good attacking run and cross in the second half that Cazorla would squander.
Cazorla 6: Santi was almost anonymous in the first half. In the second he became more influential. He had two great chances, but the first was thwarted by Neuer when he should’ve scored and the second (from Coquelin’s cross) he completely misjudged.
Ozil 7: Arsenal’s best player on the night, the one who really appeared to be up for the game. He made some great passes, had a handball goal, did a lot of running … all to no avail.
Campbell 5: One or two decent runs in the first half, but he showed little after that.
Giroud 7: Effective in the first half in winning the ball and distributing it. He worked hard and scored a lovely goal, but for the most part he was quite isolated up front.
Sanchez 6: Bayern players swarmed and fouled him (he got little to no support from the referee) and largely kept him under wraps. Was effective on the break, but we needed more poise at the end of the moves. He had a nice assist on Giroud’s goal.
Substitutes:
Gibbs 6: Came on to help control Robben on the wing, which he largely did.
Chambers n/a: Came on for defensive support.
Iwobi n/a: Made his Champions League debut in the few minutes he was on the field.