It was hard not to be full of frustration and even rage as Arsenal were torn apart at the Allianz arena by the German champions Bayern Munich. Yet again the Gunners exit the Champions League at the first knockout stage, with the manner and size of our defeat hard to stomach. I am an Arsenal fan, however, and I always try to find some positives for us, so here goes Gooners.
1. We were up against a side on the longest run of wins at home in the UCL competition. While Arsenal may have been below par they were at full tilt all over the pitch and just about any team would have struggled to cope.
2. Arsene Wenger’s hands were tied to some extent because of the injury situation. His ongoing problems on this front were highlighted and made much worse by the forced withdrawal of our captain and best defender Laurent Koscielny.
3. The referee and his assistants did not help us apart from the penalty and neither did the antics of the home team. They feigned injury, surrounded the ref constantly and with the home crowd in full voice and seeming to influence all of the decisions it made for an even more one-sided game than might have been.
4. We may have rode our luck but after 53 minutes Arsenal were level and had even had a few decent chances to take the lead. Against a brilliant Bayern in full flow we should remember that and maybe recall that there are some great players in our squad and that our team can be pretty damn good ourselves.
5. These things can happen. Just ask Barcelona who were one of the favourites and were also battered by a four goal margin against the club we beat to top spot in the group and they had the likes of Messi, Suarez and Neymar on the pitch.
I know it’s hard, Gooners, but try not to let this one game bother you too much. We still have St. Totteringham’s day to look forward to.
Sam P.