AC Milan vs. Arsenal: 4 Negatives and 2 Positives from the Gunners' Performance

To put it in colloquial terms, Arsenal, "we're crap."

On a night when AC Milan took control of the match early and wrung their opponents out to dry with relish, Arsene Wenger's side simply, bluntly, were not good enough.

Yet the most worrisome talking point of Wednesday night's implosion wasn't as much the fact that Arsenal were outclassed—that hurt badly enough.

Rather, it was a sense that nearly every single one of the players who donned the canary yellow strip and headed out onto the pitch seemed undone by the magnitude of the situation.

Much had been made in the run-up to the fixture about the experience boasted by Milan, which seemed far superior to that of the more youthful Arsenal side.

But Arsenal have played in the knockout stages of the Champions League for years now: Every one of the players who took the field had played in a heated European battle before—even Aaron Ramsey, who missed last season's campaign due to injury and was too green two seasons ago to play a significant role, played against Fenerbache in Istanbul back in the 2008 group stages.

There were no excuses to be daunted by the occasion. This is what players are supposed to live for, after all.

Yet with the exception of a select few, the Gunners who played never seemed able to get into the match.

Five shots were fired on target from the Arsenal guns—mostly coming by way of talismanic striker Robin van Persie, but the most telling occasions were the wayward volleys of Tomas Rosicky, or the moribund attempts at searching long balls played by Aaron Ramsey.

The Gunners misfired, misfired and misfired some more. And Milan took advantage like the hard-nosed, disciplined European side they are.

Let's be honest: AC Milan will not win the Champions League this season. They're just not that good. But they were made to look like the European title-winning sides of 2003 and 2007 (their most recent accomplishments in the competition).

Arsene Wenger called it "the worst performance" he'd seen from Arsenal in Europe. That may have been putting it delicately. In the first half, Arsenal looked in danger of being swept off the pitch like chaff in the wind.

But hope, as it always does, remains. Participation in the UCL past this stage may be impossible, but stranger things have happened.

Despite how poor Arsenal's play was on the night, there were a couple pockets of light amid the gathering gloom.

Here's four of the worst, and two of the, well, OK performances from Arsenal on Wednesday.

Theo Walcott (Negative)

You can usually tell how effective a player's been by how many pictures he has in the B/R archives.

Theo Walcott only had one from Wednesday night's match against Milan. That should tell you something. So should the fact he was subbed off at halftime.

You could make the excuse that the state of the pitch—ungodly, given the weight of the occasion—hampered his ability to scamper up and down the right flank as he does when on form.

The patches of newly-laid turf, extending from the edge of the penalty area to the sideline on both ends of the pitch, was in sharp contrast to that in the middle of the field, which looked halfway decent.

The debate over whether the San Siro should house two Serie A teams can be addressed later, but seven months into the season, the wear and tear has taken a serious toll. And it did make a difference.

Passes traversing the two sods inevitably took a hop or a skip, rendering Arsenal's passing game moot.

But that's no excuse for Walcott, nor Arsenal. Milan had to play on the same field as well, after all. Just as Russia did to England in the 2007 European Championship qualifying match in Moscow, in playing the match on synthetic turf (much to the Three Lions' indignation), you have to play on the pitch given for the occasion. No excuses.

Walcott just never got going, and he provided nothing in the form of danger from the right wing. That is something that needs to be remedied, and fast. That sound he hears is Gervinho unpacking his bags from the ACN, ready to re-assume his role on the left wing.

Whereupon Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain may just shift to the right wing.

Aaron Ramsey (Negative)

Seen here tussling with Urby Emanuelson, Ramsey did little to further his case for continued playing time in midfield against Milan.

Compared with Tomas Rosicky, who provided Gunners fans a brief glimmer of hope in the opening minutes when his turn of pace in the attacking third saw him shrug free of the Rossoneri defense and fire past Christian Abbiati's goal, Ramsey seemed a ghost in midfield.

It was always going to be difficult to crack the Milanese defense with the hosts opting to place eight men behind the ball whenever Arsenal had possession in the attacking third, but when it came down to it, Ramsey didn't do enough to try and change the tenor of the match.

Arsenal's Collective Defense (Negative)

The back four bore the brunt of the post-match tidal wave of criticism, but Arsenal were horrid as an entire defensive unit.

Wojciech Szczesny's terrible clearance allowed Milan to capture possession in the attacking third, whereupon Kevin Prince Boateng was sent in on goal for his excellent first. But that was simply one example of the Gunners' inability to defend well, which, when compounded with the midfield's inability to maintain possession and mark well (Zlatan Ibrahimovich was given acres of space to do as he pleased in pockets of room between the defense and midfield), led to disaster.

Djourou was certainly bested by Zlatan when he gave up the penalty that led to Milan's fourth goal on the night, but it was unfair for pundits to solely call out the back four when much of the rest of the team was at fault.

Lack of a Big-Game Mentality (Glaring Negative)

Mikel Arteta losing possession in midfield on numerous occasions.

Wojciech Szczesny sending out poor clearance after poor clearance from his penalty area.

Theo Walcott rendered irrelevant on the right wing.

Aaron Ramsey failing to make any kind of imprint in midfield.

The breadth of poor Arsenal performances on the night could stretch on for days, but the most worrisome trend boils down to one principle.

On a night when a commanding performance was required of them, they came up woefully short.

Here's hoping they can do something to address that fact and, at the very least, save some face in front of Europe when Milan visit the Emirates for the second leg in less than three weeks' time.

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (Tepid Positive)

It wasn't as much Oxlade-Chamberlain's contribution—like so many of his teammates, it was next to negligent—as his desire that provided one of the very few positives from the Arsenal performance.

Whether it was the 18-year-old battling for possession, or him trying to run at the Milan defense, he showed the kind of commitment and desire you expect to see in such a game.

Sadly, the majority of his teammates did not oblige.

Thierry Henry's Curtain Call (Positive)

Discount, for a moment, the fact that Henry—at 34, a mere shade of the player who tore the San Siro apart in November, 2003, when Arsenal ran riot over Inter Milan 5-1—couldn't deliver the Gunners to salvation for a third time during his brief loan spell.

That just makes his winners against Leeds United (Jan. 9) and Sunderland (Feb. 11) that much sweeter to remember.

No, what should be remembered about Henry's performance is how badly he looked like he wanted it during his time out there on the pitch.

On a night when Arsenal looked timid, and wholly unsuccessful in imposing their style of play on the proceedings—a far cry from the 2-0 win over Milan in 2008—Henry was one of the most aggressive Gunners, working his tail off to apply pressure on the Milan players, who for large portions of the second half seemed perfectly content with working the ball around their own half.

You could see the frustration etched on his face when his teammates didn't exert the same desire. But not once did he chastise them. Not even after the final whistle had gone, and his loan spell had officially ended, did Henry throw his teammates under the bus.

Instead, he exhorted them. He still believes a trophy can be won this season.

That's what you want to hear from an elder statesman. So while Henry's performance didn't produce anything on the pitch on Wednesday night, it's his attitude that was the clear winner.

And, hoping that the Arsenal players take his desire to heart, that could prove to be the most important thing anyone's done for the side this season.