Match ends, Arsenal 1, FC Bayern München 5.
ArsenalArsenal1Bayern MunichBayern Munich5
Ten-man Arsenal were knocked out of the Champions League at the last-16 stage for the seventh successive season following a second-half capitulation against Bayern Munich.
A debated decision in the 53rd minute shattered any hopes of the Gunners becoming the first side in Champions League history to overturn a four-goal deficit, having also lost the first leg in Germany 5-1.
They led through Theo Walcott's stunning 20th-minute goal, before Bayern were awarded a penalty that also resulted in the sending off of defender Laurent Koscielny.
The France centre-back was initially shown a yellow card by referee Anastasios Sidiropoulos for his foul on Robert Lewandowski inside the area - but it was upgraded to a red once he decided Koscielny made no attempt to win the ball.
Gunners boss Arsene Wenger looked perplexed by the sudden change of heart by the official.
Lewandowski placed his spot-kick beyond the reach of David Ospina to give Bayern a 6-2 aggregate lead and effectively kill off the tie.
The home side then folded as Bayern scored four goals in 17 minutes. Arjen Robben robbed Alexis Sanchez of the ball and beat Ospina, before Douglas Costa made it 3-1 with a stunning solo goal.
Fellow midfielder Arturo Vidal grabbed a late double, first with an impudent chip before slotting in from Costa's square pass.
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- Reaction to Arsenal's 10-2 aggregate humiliation
- Bayern could face fine over paper roll protest
How bad was it? The stats
- The 10-2 aggregate defeat is the worst suffered by an English side in the Champions League
- It was Arsenal's biggest home loss since November 1998 (5-0 against Chelsea in the League Cup)
- Only one Champions League tie has seen a greater margin of victory for a team - Bayern Munich v Sporting Lisbon (12-1, 2009)
Wenger's men fall apart again
If this was to be Wenger's final outing in the Champions League with Arsenal then what an embarrassing final act.
Few expected the Gunners to perform a miracle, but they did at least expect to take the fight to the German giants.
Aside from the goal, Walcott also went close when Manuel Neuer saved his effort and Olivier Giroud hit the base of the post with a header.
Walcott was also denied a penalty after it appeared that Xabi Alonso had fouled him.
But Bayern rarely looked stretched and bided their time before punishing an error-strewn second-half display by the home side.
Bayern punish downtrodden Gunners
Some might debate whether Koscielny deserved a straight red but, under new laws regarding penalties, the referee was right to amend his initial decision to award the defender a yellow.
The Gunners' similarly folded when the Frenchman came off injured in the first leg with the scores 1-1.
Arsenal's initial target of scoring four goals would have still taken the contest into extra time. Any chance of that happening ended when Robben nipped in to take the ball away from the feet of Sanchez, who was inexplicably trying to play the ball on the edge of his own area.
The team lost heart thereafter and allowed Costa to run 50 yards before the Brazilian cut inside and curled in a brilliant 20-yard strike.
Vidal's double came late and in quick succession. First an error by Shkodran Mustafi was punished with a cheeky dink, before the Chile midfielder tapped in Costa's pass.
The final whistle could not come soon enough for Wenger and his team.
| Arsenal's last-16 hoodoo | ||
|---|---|---|
| Season | Opponent | Aggregate score |
| 2010-11 | Barcelona | 3-4 |
| 2011-12 | Milan | 3-4 |
| 2012-13 | Bayern Munich | 3-3 (Bayern win on away goals) |
| 2013-14 | Bayern Munich | 1-3 |
| 2014-15 | Monaco | 3-3 (Monaco win on away goals) |
| 2015-16 | Barcelona | 1-5 |
| 2016-17 | Bayern Munich | 2-10 |
Wenger's week just got worse
While Bayern carried out their own protest against ticket prices by throwing toilet rolls on to the pitch, the main attention was on the 'Wenger Out' demonstration before kick-off.
A large gathering of fans made it known outside the ground that they did not want the Frenchman in charge of the club.
Wenger has yet to decide whether to accept the contract extension or leave the club he has managed since 1996.
This week's saga surrounding Sanchez, the protests and finally now this heavy defeat might have brought the 67-year-old closer to making up his mind.
'Shame Again' - How the papers reacted
Man of the match - Arturo Vidal (Bayern Munich)
Line-ups
Arsenal
Formation 4-3-3
- 13Ospina
- 24Bellerín
- 20Mustafi
- 6KoscielnyBooked at 53mins
- 18Monreal
- 29XhakaBooked at 78mins
- 15Oxlade-ChamberlainBooked at 61mins
- 8RamseySubstituted forCoquelinat 72'minutes
- 14WalcottBooked at 39mins
- 12GiroudSubstituted forÖzilat 72'minutes
- 7SánchezSubstituted forPérezat 72'minutes
Substitutes
- 3Gibbs
- 5Gabriel
- 9Pérez
- 11Özil
- 33Cech
- 34Coquelin
Bayern Munich
Formation 4-2-3-1
- 1Neuer
- 13Ferreira de Souza
- 8Martínez AguinagaBooked at 44mins
- 5Hummels
- 27AlabaBooked at 39mins
- 14Alonso
- 23Vidal
- 10RobbenSubstituted forDouglas Costaat 71'minutes
- 6Thiago AlcántaraSubstituted forKimmichat 79'minutes
- 7RibérySubstituted forRenato Sanchesat 79'minutes
- 9Lewandowski
Substitutes
- 11Douglas Costa
- 18Bernat
- 25Müller
- 26Ulreich
- 29Coman
- 32Kimmich
- 35Renato Sanches
- Referee:
- Anastasios Sidiropoulos
- Attendance:
- 59,911
Match Stats
Home TeamArsenalAway TeamBayern Munich
- Possession
- Home43%
- Away57%
- Shots
- Home10
- Away16
- Shots on Target
- Home3
- Away7
- Corners
- Home5
- Away8
- Fouls
- Home13
- Away10
Live Text
Post update
Full Time
Second Half ends, Arsenal 1, FC Bayern München 5.
Post update
Attempt missed. Héctor Bellerín (Arsenal) right footed shot from outside the box is close, but misses to the left. Assisted by Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.
Post update
Foul by Renato Sanches (FC Bayern München).
Post update
Mesut Özil (Arsenal) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Goal!
Goal! Arsenal 1, FC Bayern München 5. Arturo Vidal (FC Bayern München) right footed shot from the centre of the box to the bottom right corner. Assisted by Douglas Costa.
Goal!
Goal! Arsenal 1, FC Bayern München 4. Arturo Vidal (FC Bayern München) right footed shot from the centre of the box to the bottom left corner. Assisted by Xabi Alonso with a through ball.
Substitution
Substitution, FC Bayern München. Joshua Kimmich replaces Thiago Alcántara.
Substitution
Substitution, FC Bayern München. Renato Sanches replaces Franck Ribéry.
Booking
Granit Xhaka (Arsenal) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Goal!
Goal! Arsenal 1, FC Bayern München 3. Douglas Costa (FC Bayern München) left footed shot from outside the box to the bottom left corner. Assisted by Rafinha following a fast break.
Post update
Attempt saved. Héctor Bellerín (Arsenal) right footed shot from a difficult angle on the right is saved in the bottom right corner. Assisted by Lucas Pérez.
Post update
Robert Lewandowski (FC Bayern München) hits the right post with a right footed shot from the centre of the box. Assisted by Douglas Costa with a cross.
Post update
Foul by Thiago Alcántara (FC Bayern München).
Post update
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (Arsenal) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Post update
Offside, FC Bayern München. Franck Ribéry tries a through ball, but Robert Lewandowski is caught offside.
Substitution
Substitution, Arsenal. Lucas Pérez replaces Alexis Sánchez.
Substitution
Substitution, Arsenal. Mesut Özil replaces Olivier Giroud.
Substitution
Substitution, Arsenal. Francis Coquelin replaces Aaron Ramsey.
Post update
Foul by Rafinha (FC Bayern München).
Comments
Join the conversation
That was another 2nd half capitulation. You can question AW's tactics, team selection but that was the players' fault for such an abject performance. They just gave up
If he's playing for Arsenal next season then, I'm Mesut Ozil's optician.
I genuinely feel for the arsenal fans. It must be horrible to consistently think you're in with a chance of winning only for it to be ripped away from you every March for 7 years!
Ask Leeds, Blackburn, Rangers, Leyton Orient, Blackpool and Portsmouth fans what having someone ruin your club is actually like.
Arsenal, wasting Champions League places for the last 7 years.
... Even more embarrassing that the FA allowed this shambles of a side in the competition rather than Utd.
The FA didn't allow anything, Arsenal qualified unlike Utd who were somewhere mid table.
How much more humiliation? The board seems to accept over-inflated fees for mediocrity. When would Chelsea or Man Utd lose 10-2 on aggregate like this?