Arsenal's Flamini watches the Germans celebrate victory at the Emirates |
PLUS: Wenger despairs over Mesut Ozil penalty miss and claims
"Everything went against us. We should have been three up before they got
a sniff in the game"
Wojciech Szczesny faces the wrath of UEFA for his obscene gesture moments
after being sent off on a disastrous night for Arsenal.
Toni Kroos hit a wonder-goal on 54 minutes
and substitute Thomas Muller struck an 87th-minute second for a 2-0 away win that
puts Bayern Munich in control of their Champions League last-16 tie against
Arsene Wenger’s men.
Arsenal put the European champions under pressure at the start but their
night began going wrong as early as the eighth minute when Mesut Ozil’s soft
penalty was saved.
Before half-time, keeper Szczesny had been sent off and conceded a penalty,
which David Alaba missed.
And their quarter-final hopes were all but dead when their resistance fell
apart three minutes from time for Mueller’s crushing second goal.
Frustrated defender Per Mertesacker said: “We started really well and
deserved one goal. We dropped and dropped after the red card. We kept our
defensive spirit.
“We lost here 3-1 last year
against Bayern Munich and went there and beat them and
we are looking forward to Munich. Why can’t we get back in it?
“I think there is no doubt there was contact for the penalty. I don’t know
if it was a red card because the ball was a long way from Wojciech Szczesny.”
Referee Nicola Rizzoli decided Szczesny had denied Arjen Robben an obvious
goalscoring opportunity from Kroos’s chip.
The Pole was seen by TV cameras making an offensive hand signal as he
headed for the tunnel eight minutes before half-time.
If his actions are included in either the referee’s or the match delegate’s
report then he could be looking at an additional ban on top of his one-match
suspension.
Wenger knew that the Gunners had let a great chance slip by. He said:
“Everything went against us. We should have been three up before they got a
sniff in the game. The missed penalty killed the crowd a bit.
“It was a very difficult night but a night where the team has shown some
quality and some class.”
And on Ozil’s lazy run-up for his spot-kick, Wenger added: “I prefer people
to run properly at the ball. Everybody has their own style and you have to
respect that. It is his style.”
Ozil left the Emirates stunned when his penalty was brilliantly saved by
Germany No.1 Manuel Neuer.
But eight minutes later Bayern left-back Alaba also missed from the spot,
hitting a post after sending Lukasz Fabianski the wrong way.
Arsenal, however, will not believe this tie is over after pulling off a
stunning second leg win in Munich last season.
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