Defeat was inevitable.
Arsenal have been knocked out of the Champions League last 16s by Bayern Munich every single year since the time of Henry VIII, so losing to them over two legs was always on the cards when the draw paired Arsene Wenger’s men with the German champions.
This time though, Bayern don’t even need a second leg.
A woeful defensive display in the second half at the Allianz Arena, accelerated by the departure of Laurent Koscielny through injury, saw Arsenal blow a promising 1-1 half-time scoreline and finish the night on the wrong end of a 5-1 hammering.
With the final minutes of a thoroughly embarrassing night slipping away from Wenger’s side, one three second clip of footage summed everything up for all those connected with Arsenal Football Club. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain – still a good few minutes from being (wrongly) accused of applauding the Bayern fans at the end of the game – was central to it, although didn’t have the ball.
Instead, he attempts to close down Philipp Lahm as he strokes the ball to Arturo Vidal. Realising that he, nor any of his teammates, are getting anywhere near to breaking up Bayern’s possession, the Ox stamps his feet and flails his arms in the air in total frustration. A tantrum fitting of the occasion.
AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA pic.twitter.com/rTiCNKnzAn
— Phil (@Reventon_17) February 15, 2017
Heaven help the tantrums we’ll be seeing on Arsenal Fan TV in the days ahead.
