AC Milan 4-0 Arsenal UEFA Champions League: 7 Lessons Learned

Arsenal were disjointed, out of their depth, shambolic and fortunate not to lose by six goals in their loss today to AC Milan. 

AC Milan took them to the cleaners, and have ensured they're near certainties to qualify for the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals. 

Barring an epic Milan capitulation, it's another fruitless European season for Arsène Wenger. 

What mistakes did Wenger make? 

Here are seven valuable lessons learned this game. 

Start Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain in the 2nd Leg

Arsène Wenger should have been more brave by starting Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. 

Instead, Wenger opted to start Tomáš Rosický, who was a non-factor throughout the game. 

To full-backs, Chamberlain is a nightmare because he's fleet-footed and as strong as an ox.

That's just from an athletic perspective.

From a technical perspective, he's an incisive dribbler and is efficient distributing the ball. 

When Robin van Persie nearly headed in, who provided the cross? 

Chamberlain. 

Rosický or Chamberlain?

Chamberlain all day. 

Kevin-Prince Boateng Is World Class

If you watch Serie A football on a regular basis, you would have already recognised Kevin-Prince Boateng's world class displays as a trequartista.

Calling him a trequartista doesn't do him justice though, because he is a complete footballer. 

He can play as a box-to-box midfielder, a centre midfielder or even an inside forward. 

All three roles aren't just played competently, but in a manner that would be be-fitting of a world class footballer. 

What makes him so special is a combination of his dynamism, his athleticism and his tactical nous. 

The goal he scored today was extraordinary and adds to his growing highlight reel. 

Laurent Koscielny Is Useless

To be fair to Laurent Koscielny, he has been decent this season, as opposed to dismal the season before. 

One way of properly evaluating a footballer is to judge his performances against world-class opponents. 

Not only was he out of his depth marking Zlatan Ibrahimović, but he was ball watching as Kevin-Prince Boateng and Robinho both scored. 

For an Arsène Wenger player, Koscielny's positional awareness is nonexistent. 

Injury ensured that Koscielny was spared any further humiliation. 

Theo Walcott's Desires to Play as a Forward

After the first half, Wojciech Szczęsny had completed 17 passes to Theo Walcott's 13.

Against mediocre defences, Walcott will thrive but against organised and solid defences, he'll be away on leave. 

Seven years after promising to play Walcott as a forward, Arsène Wenger has yet to live up to his words.

Instead he has contributed to hindering Walcott's progression as a footballer by utilising him as a one trick pony. 

When Walcott plays out wide, he is a runner, not a footballer. 

Zlatan Ibrahimović: A Real Footballer

Let's not forget that Zlatan Ibrahimović could have joined Arsenal as a youngster. 

Former AC Milan teammate Taye Taiwo perfectly summed up the Swede: 

"

He always wants the ball to feet. So in that sense he is a player who is quite easy to mark, unlike Filippo Inzaghi, who is always on the move. But if he gets the ball to feet, then you can’t get it off him because he is so strong.

"

When Ibrahimović has his back to goal with possession, it's  Kareem Abdul-Jabbar posting up and shooting the sky hook—you can't stop him. 

Today, Ibrahimović shielded the ball, turned and split Arsenal's defence more often than not. 

He may have only completed 67 percent of his passes, but he threaded five key passes—two of which were assists.  

When he did take on an Arsenal defender, he drew a penalty. 

Mind you, I use defender in the loosest term when describing Johan Djourou. 

Robin Van Persie Stuck on Silva Island

Robin van Persie's first half was anemic and anonymous. 

It's not his fault that he had to fend off a world class centre-back in Thiago Silva with Philippe Mexès coming in to double team.  

Wenger can change this by making one simple decision—give van Persie a strike partner. 

The Dutchman looked his best when Thierry Henry was playing alongside him. 

Arsène Wenger's insistence on fielding van Persie and 10 others is a similar thought process to José Mourinho's use of Zlatan Ibrahimović at Inter Milan. 

Christian Abbiati's Importance

4-2 would be a workable scoreline given the value of two away goals, but 4-0 is Hail Mary time. 

When Thierry Henry's instinctive flick pass found Robin van Persie, it was Christian Abbiati who denied a certain goal. 

Abbiati then denied a goal-bound van Persie header. 

Please read 10 Most Hostile World Football Stadiums. 

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