A second-half masterclass from Bayern Munich left Arsenal's Champions League dream in tatters and all but over following a 5-1 drubbing at the Allianz Arena.
It didn't actually look too bad for Arsenal at half-time after an Alexis Sanchez penalty had cancelled out Arjen Robben's opener. But when Laurent Koscielny was forced off injured within five minutes of the restart it all started to go horribly wrong.
Robert Lewandowski put Bayern back in front before a double from Thiago Alcantara and a late strike from substitute Thomas Muller virtually sealed Bayern's passage into the quarter-final.
Although there is still the second leg to play and Arsenal are capable of beating Bayern at home, I really can't see us getting the result required to overturn this one. Even if we did perform a miracle and score four, I can't see us stopping the German giants from scoring so even if we win the Champions League exit door is once again rapidly looming.
Bayern deserve a lot of credit as they really were excellent in the second half and would probably have beaten whoever they faced on the day, but that also doesn't excuse just how poor we were after half-time.
In fact, had it not been for some excellent goalkeeping from David Ospina the score could have been a lot worse. Obviously we can't give up until it's literally over, but our chances look very bleak.
Bayern took just 11 minutes to set the ball rolling as Robben cut inside before unleashing a sublime 25-yard strike beyond Ospina. It was a top quality strike, but we should have defended better in the build up.
The hosts were enjoying most of the possession, but we did finally threaten when Mesut Ozil's free-kick was spilled by Manuel Neuer in the Bayern goal. Unfortunately no Arsenal player was able to take advantage of the situation to score from the loose ball.
Arsenal gave themselves a real chance of getting something from the tie when a penalty was awarded after Koscielny was tripped in the area. Sanchez saw his penalty excellently saved by Neuer and, although the Chilean made a mess of the initial rebound, he got the ball back to score a well-taken equaliser.
We then started to look more lively and it is almost a shame that the half-time whistle came when it did as we were actually looking decent at this point. Granit Xhaka and Ozil were both denied by Neuer in the latter stages of the first half and Arsenal were beginning to look more confident, but after the break was a totally different story.
To go from a team looking positive at the end of the first half to falling apart in the second was so frustrating to watch. Bayern deserve a lot of credit for how well they played in the second half, but we also should have performed much better than we did instead of looking lost and void of ideas.
Koscielny being withdrawn early in the second half was a huge blow and had a big impact on the match and it wasn't long before Bayern scored their second of the night. Lewandowski headed home Philipp Lahm's cross and before Arsenal even had time to recover they conceded again just a few minutes later. Scorer turned provider as Lewandowski's back-heel set up Thiago to slot home.
Thiago soon added a second with a strike that deflected in off Xhaka and in a little over 10 minutes the score had gone from 1-1 and game on to 4-1 down. It was well and truly embarrassing!
Ospina produced some fine saves to keep the score down as Bayern continued to dominate, but he was unable to do anything about the hosts' late fifth as Thiago set up Muller to side-foot a shot home.
For brief moments it looked like we could have a chance, but for far too much of the game we looked second best and it is an evening we'll certainly want to forget.
ROUND OF 16
Our Champions League participation is almost over for another year and currently hangs by the thinnest of threads.
Had we lost 2-1 or even 3-1, I would feel a bit more confident as winning 2-0 at home is doable. But at 5-1 down I really can't see any way back for us and it looks set to be yet another Champions League exit at the same stage of the competition as last year. It is an all too familiar story.
Bayern were good and deserved their big lead, but we really should have done better and made more of a game of it in the second half. As soon as their third goal went in, you could see that there was no way back.
We were not showing enough fight and desire and, although Bayern is always a tough place for any side in Europe to go, there can be no excuses for that second half.
Barring a miracle, which in truth isn't going to happen, we are out for another year and Arsene Wenger and the majority of the players let us down tonight.
MY FINAL THOUGHTS
The Champions League and Premier League are the most important pieces of silverware, but both look beyond reach this season.
They are the two biggest prizes by far, but that doesn't stop me loving the FA Cup and wanting us to do well in it. If we were to win it I would be delighted, but it also wouldn't hide the fact that we have under-performed in the two biggest competitions.
We need to be fully focused and turn our attentions to the FA Cup now and, although our trip to non-league Sutton should produce a routine win we can't underestimate them or get complacent. We need to make sure we avoid a potential banana skin.
I'm taking nothing for granted, but we really should be winning this one without any problems. Whatever happens won't disguise the woeful display in Munich, but I'd also be truly gutted if we exited a domestic competition I truly love. So let's go out there and make sure we don't let Sutton become FA Cup giantkillers. We need to dominate and get back to winning ways before the mammoth task of the league trip to Anfield to face Liverpool.
COME ON YOU GUNNERS
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