All of the belief that Arsenal would be able to beat Bayern Munich in Germany after beating them at Emirates Stadium last month evaporated the moment Robert Lewandowski stepped between Gabriel and Petr Cech.
It took one header from the Bundesliga scoring machine to reveal how overmatched the Arsenal defense was against the likes of Lewandowski, Thomas Muller and Douglas Costa.
The eventual 5-1 loss at the Allianz Arena did more than cost Arsenal another three points in the Champions League, it put them on the brink of elimination in the group stage. Due to Olympiacos’ win over Dinamo Zagreb, Arsenal must win – not draw – each of its next two matches against the two clubs that have already beaten them in order to have a chance at advancing to the knockout round.
Should Olympiacos and Bayern Munich merely tie either of their next two CL fixtures, both will advance, knocking out Arsenal in the process.
Here are the Arsenal Player Ratings v Bayern Munich from their 5-1 loss in the Champions League:
GK Petr Cech – 6/10
Not even on his best day ever could Cech have defended against the Bayern Munich attack with the way the defense was playing. His eight saves were overshadowed by the five goals.
DF Mathieu Debuchy – 3/10
Provided no assistance to Cech and could barely get the ball away from the box.
DF Per Mertesacker – 4/10
Not as awful as his defensive teammates, but Mertesacker deserves no credit for his play today.
DF Gabriel – 3/10
Gabriel committed the cardinal sin of football: Let Lewandowski get behind him. And it cost the team dearly within minutes of the match starting.
DF Nacho Monreal – 5/10
Could not keep up with the high-octane Bayern Munich attack.
MF Francis Coquelin – 5.5/10
Coquelin could barely get a foot on the ball and didn’t fight it either.
MF Santi Cazorla – 4/10
Cazorla was humiliated by Alaba on the third goal, his lone shot wasn’t well-placed either.
MF Joel Campbell – 5/10
Any good grace Campbell earned himself from his big game in the Premier League evaporated in one awful half against Bayern Munich.
MF Mesut Ozil – 7.5/10
If not for all of the mistakes, Ozil might have been credited with a very good game.
FW Alexis Sanchez – 6/10
Sanchez was embarrassed and then out-muscled by Javi Martinez in the first half. He was invisible in the second.
FW Olivier Giroud – 7/10
Of all the Arsenal players on the pitch today, Giroud was about the only one not willing to mail it in. It’s a shame that sensational goal was wasted in such pointless part of the match.
Substitutes:
Kieran Gibbs – 6/10
Gibbs was a breathe of fresh air from the stinker Joel Campbell left on the field, but didn’t contribute much in the way of solid defense.
Alexi Iwobi – 5.5/10
Iwobi’s CL debut came with just minutes left on the clock, did not get much of a chance to do anything with those minutes though.
Calum Chambers – 2/10
Chambers was outmaneuvered for the ball by Douglas Costa with ease and never fought back for it. Moments later, Costa tapped the ball to Muller for the easy 5th score.