While Arsenal fans have been left to come to terms with how far off the pace our team was against Bayern Munich in the Champions League and reeling from being on the end of our joint worst result in the competition, there is also a feeling that it was coming and so it is not such a big shock.
The same cannot be said of the result the previous night, when PSG really made the football world sit up and take notice after battering Barcelona with four unanswered goals. The Barca players and their manager Luis Enrique have understandably been taking a lot of stick from the press and the football pundits, but I wonder if maybe this is just a sign of the times.
Both Arsenal and Barca play the same sort of possession based football and for years it has been the blueprint for a lot of clubs. Under Pep Guardiola the Catalan club became arguably the best club side ever and at the same time the Spanish national team was playing the same way and won three consecutive tournaments.
Nothing stays the same, though, and football over the years has seen any number of tactical changes, so I wonder if we are now coming to the end of tiki-taka in favour of a more athletic, robust and high pressing style of football. It worked for Leicester in the Premier League last season and is working for Chelsea this time.
It is what we expect from Real Madrid and the likes of Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund as well and they all seem to be thriving, so assuming that Arsene Wenger does call it a day, do Arsenal need to replace him with a coach who will change our style?
Bob.