Bayern Munich ran riot with a second successive 5-1 hammering of
Arsenal to reach the Champions League quarterfinals 10-2 on aggregate at
a stunned Emirates Stadium on Tuesday.
Trailing 5-1 from the first leg and striving to become the first team in
Champions League history to overturn such a deficit, Arsenal led at
halftime through Theo Walcott's goal.
But once Robert Lewandowski equalised from the penalty spot and Arsenal
skipper Laurent Koscielny was sent off, the Bundesliga leaders ran amok
against their dispirited hosts.
Robben capitalised on a defensive mistake in the 68th minute before
substitute Douglas Costa curled in a third to send Arsenal's fans
streaming towards the exits.
Bayern were not finished though and Arturo Vidal struck twice as Arsenal
slumped to their worst home defeat since 1998 and a seventh successive
elimination at the competition's last-16 stage in humiliating fashion.
Arsenal fans had mounted a small-scale demonstration calling for an end
to manager Arsene Wenger's 21-year reign at the club before kickoff --
yet there was plenty to admire from his team in the first half as they
attempted mission impossible.
In his programme notes Wenger called for a salvaging of pride after Arsenal's second-half capitulation in Germany.
Alexis Sanchez was restored to the starting lineup after being dropped
by Wenger against Liverpool and when Walcott smashed in a 20th-minute
opener, it seemed Arsenal would at least exit with heads held high.
Olivier Giroud, pressed into action immediately before kickoff when
Danny Welbeck injured himself in the warmup, wasted a great chance to
make it 2-0 straight after the interval.
Then it all went horribly wrong for Arsenal and turned into a personal
nightmare for Wenger whose position will again come under intense
scrutiny once the dust has settled.
Bayern levelled on the night when Lewandowski was pushed over while running into the box by Koscielny in the 55th minute.
Referee Tasos Sidiropoulos reached for his red card, ending Koscielny's
evening, and Arsenal swiftly collapsed, just as they did when the French
defender went off injured in the first leg.
Lewandowski sent David Ospina the wrong way from the spot to knock the
stuffing out of Arsenal. Robben then capitalised on some poor defending
to put Bayern ahead before substitute Douglas Costa curled in a third in
the 78th minute.
If it had been a boxing match the towel would have been thrown in but
there was no hiding place for Arsenal and Vidal struck two late goals,
both from close-range as the home defence went AWOL, to the obvious glee
of Bayern's sizeable support.
Bayern fell just short of matching their 11-goal victory margin over two
legs against Sporting Lisbon in 2009 when they won 12-1 on aggregate.
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