It was so close, yet so far for the Gunners last night as it has been over the past few years. It’s now the second time in two years that Arsenal bow out of the Champions league in style. A glorious 2-0 victory over Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena proved to be off no use as the Germans qualified for the Quarter finals on the away goals.
The three goals that Arsenal let in at the Emirates proved to be a little too much to recover, but the Londoners should be proud to have almost managed the unthinkable. A 3rd minute strike from Olivier Giroud stunned the home ground to give an early advantage to the travelling team, but couldn’t find the all important 2nd goal until the 85th minute which was a little too late as Bayern held on the last 5 nervy minutes to go through.
Player ratings:
Fabianski:
Guess the name Flapianski will not suit him anymore. A rare brilliant performance from the Polish. Stepped into the first team after a very lengthy lay off and to everyone’s astonishment kept a clean sheet with some decent stops 8/10.
Jenkinson:
Every Time he has been called up for the first team, Jenkison has never failed to deliver. He played with a heart full of attitude and dealt with the trickery off Robben quite well 8/10.
Mertesacker:
A German tank indeed. It was one of his best performance in an Arsenal shirt. After a poor outing against the Spurs, Mertesacker stepped up a level for the big game. Blocked everything that came in his way and kept hold of Mandzukic for most parts of the game 8.5/10.
Koscielny:
Was the best of the lot. Commanded the back line and scored the goal which gave Arsenal a glimpse of a hope in the last 5 minutes 8.5/10.
Gibbs:
Started the match directly after returning to the first team training after spending six weeks in the treatment table and put in a solid performance 8/10.
Arteta:
The lack of a defensive midfielder along side the Spaniard was clearly highlighted last night. His duties with the ball going forward was decent as always but it’s when he shifts back to defend that he fails to deliver. He is not the typical ball winner to sit in-front of the back four and lost the plot in the final few minutes giving away a series of needless, and frustrating, fouls. l6/10.
Ramsey:
Not a great performance from Ramsey but it was an acceptable one. After initially giving away possession easily in the first half, gathered himself as the match progressed. 6/10.
Rosicky:
Not the best day out for Rosicky. His link up play with Walcott and Giroud failed miserably allowing the Germans to retrieve the ball without fighting for it. Apart from his layoff to Walcott in the build-up for the first goal, Rosicky was not involved much. 5.5/10.
Cazorla:
Showed glimpses of his presence now and then, but had a quiet day overall. 6/10.
Walcott:
Started the match with a pin point cross to find Giroud and almost found him again in the second half with a cross similar to the first one but this time the striker couln’t find the back of the net. Apart from these two crosses, Theo was completely lost and was eventually subbed. 6/10.
Giroud:
Tapped in the first goal and was lively in the first half winning all the long balls that came in his way, but was not clinical enough when presented with a half chance and his attempt to pass the ball onto the path of Cazorla almost worked but the Germans were aware of the danger and cleared it. Not a bad, but definitely not a good performance from the French International. 6.5/10.
Bayern Munich Ratings:
Manuel Neuer:
A run of poor form from the German keeper Neuer as he has let in 4 goals in the last two games for Bayern. Though he was not at fault for the first goal, he could have made a better attempt at stopping the second goal and his attempt to waste time after it was followed by 5 nervy minutes for Bayern to hold on. 6/10.
Philipp Lahm:
As always the Bayern full back was at his best. Kept a check on all off Arsenal’s attacks that came his way and his contribution in the final third was impeccable. 8/10.
Dante:
Not the best of the night’s for the Brazilian. A poor match ended up giving 2 goals to the travelling team 6/10.
Daniel Van Buyten:
Stepped in to replace Jerome Boateng but was average in his defensive duties. 6.5/10
David Alaba:
It’s not often that you see the youngster from Austria having a poor night. But it was once such day when Alaba found himself at the wrong place way more than he usual does. His slip near the penalty box opened up a pocket of space for Walcott to utilise which he did with perfection. 5.5/10
Javier Martinez:
Schweinsteiger’s absence was clearly felt as Martinez single-handedly coudn’t convert the defensive tackles into forward passes. Stayed at the back for the most part of the game and was not very effective when he occasionally came forward. 6/10
Luiz Gustavo:
Gustavo silenced some of his critics with a decent job, much better than his midfield colleague Martinez. 6.5/10.
Arjen Robben:
He has been complaining about the lack of first team opportunities this season and when presented with a chance, he failed miserably to make the most of it. Though made some mazy runs, his selfishness masked all the good things that he did. Failed to convert a clear cut chance, failed to pass it when his team mates were with acres of space but his time wasting during the stoppage time would have been a treat to Bayern’ fans. 5.5/10
Toni Kroos:
A night of frustration for Kross. He threatened the goal from distance more than any Bayern player did but did not test the Arsenal keeper. 6.5/10
Thomas Muller:
Muller is touted as an inconsistent player and yesterday was one of the nights when he proved it. Failed to wear his passing/shooting boots. 5.5/10
Mario Mandzukic:
One of the worst performance from the Croatian. Scorer of an important goal in the first leg, Mandzukic’s presence was hardly found last night. Was frustrated when he was subbed , but it was the right thing from the coach. 5/10.
Watch the highlights here:
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