Bayern Munich vs. Arsenal: Winners and Losers from Champions League Game
Bayern Munich avenged their only UEFA Champions League loss of the season in emphatic style on Wednesday night, routing Arsenal 5-1 in a Group F match at the Allianz Arena.
Thomas Muller scored twice for the Bundesliga leaders, who exacted revenge for a 2-0 loss at Arsenal last month in this competition. Robert Lewandowski, David Alaba and Arjen Robben also netted for the hosts.
Olivier Giroud pulled back a consolation goal for Arsenal in the second half.
"This was the right reaction. We lost in London but our performance in London also was good," Bayern coach Pep Guardiola told UEFA.com. "Today was like a final for us. It was a big step and we are nearly qualified. Now we will win our game against Olimpiakos to become first in the group."
Bayern now lead Group F with nine points from four matches, while Arsenal are last with three points. Here, B/R selects winners and losers from the game.
Winner: Bayern's Home Form
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Playing Bayern at the Allianz Arena was never going to be easy for Arsenal. Before Wednesday's game, the Bavarian side had scored 21 goals in their last four Champions League matches on home soil, per Opta Joe.
And as BT Sport's Archie Rhind-Tutt noted, Bayern's home form in all competitions is formidable. In addition to beating Arsenal 5-1, Pep Guardiola's men demolished Wolfsburg, Dinamo Zagreb, Borussia Dortmund and Koln by a combined score of 19-2.
Now, if only Bayern could replicate that form on the road.
"If Bayern can figure out how to play away from home, nothing can stop them from winning the Champions League," B/R's Clark Whitney tweeted.
For now, Bayern will have to content themselves with staying atop Group F. Victory over Olympiakos on Matchday 5 would all but seal first place in the group.
Loser: Arsenal's Champions League Chances
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One could argue that going out of the Champions League could help Arsenal's Premier League campaign. But here we will only focus on the Gunners' European prospects, which are rather grim.
These days, there is little shame in losing to Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena. Few teams can come to Bavaria and take even a point off Pep Guardiola's side.
But Wednesday's 5-1 defeat was the heaviest in Arsenal's European history, per @Orbinho. The Gunners were totally outclassed, and, because of Olympiakos' 2-1 victory at home to Dinamo Zagreb, their Champions League campaign is on life support.
Granted, there were extenuating circumstances. Arsenal had to play without Laurent Koscielny, Theo Walcott, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Mikel Arteta, Aaron Ramsey, David Ospina, Jack Wilshere, Tomas Rosicky, Danny Welbeck and Hector Bellerin—all of whom missed out through injury. With that in mind, it might have been foolish to expect the Gunners to take anything from this match.
But Bayern humbled Arsenal comprehensively, tearing apart Arsene Wenger's side with alarming ease. Only rarely have the Gunners appeared so helpless, especially in Europe.
"You have to give credit to Bayern for their quality but we made things easy for them," Wenger told Arsenal.com. "We were extremely poor defensively."
After the defeat, Arsenal sit at the bottom of Group F with just three points from four matches. To have any hope of qualifying, the Gunners must win both of their remaining matches—against Olympiakos and Dinamo Zagreb—while hoping that one of Bayern or Olympiakos lose both of theirs.
Arsenal have no margin for error. This has been a miserable European campaign, and unless the Gunners complete a massive turnaround, it will be over soon—perhaps even without the consolation of the Europa League.
Winner: Thiago Alcantara
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Thiago Alcantara pulled the strings as Bayern shredded Arsenal in the first half. The hosts scored four times, and Alcantara played a starring role, handing out an assist for the first strike and almost toying with Arsenal's defenders at times.
Earning Man of the Match honors from WhoScored.com, Alcantara completed over 90 percent of his passes, including four key passes. He also made five interceptions and completed seven tackles in midfield. According to Squawka, he created three chances, though it surely could have been more if Bayern had maintained their level of attacking throughout the second half.
So influential was Alcantara that, by halftime, he had recorded more touches than any two Arsenal players combined, per Kevin McCauley.
"I could watch Thiago Alcantara play football all day," B/R's Sam Tighe wrote on Twitter. "So silky, so fluid, and also so impactful."
Loser: Mathieu Debuchy
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Poor Mathieu Debuchy. From the start, Bayern seemed to target the French right-back, who simply couldn't cope.
On one occasion, Bayern's Douglas Costa nutmegged Debuchy. The play summed up Debuchy's night.
Without the injured Hector Bellerin in the side, Arsenal were vulnerable at right-back. Wenger voiced his confidence in Debuchy before the match, per Arsenal.com, but one has to wonder whether he would say the same now.
Winners: Robert Lewandowski, Thomas Muller and David Alaba
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Robert Lewandowski scored Bayern's first goal of the game with a header, taking his tally to 24 for club and country this season. Today's date is Nov. 4.
The Poland international is probably the most in-form striker on the planet at the moment. When he doesn't score, it's a shock.
Thomas Muller, meanwhile, netted two more goals of his own. According to Squawka, he has recorded 24 Champions League goals since 2012-13. Only Cristiano Ronaldo, Lewandowski and Lionel Messi have scored more in that time.
But the strike of the night belonged to David Alaba, who curled an unstoppable drive into the top corner to give Bayern a 4-0 advantage in the 44th minute. The Austrian's technique was perfect, which makes the following fact even more impressive: Alaba, a defender, is still just 23 years old.
Winner: Olivier Giroud
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Give credit to Olivier Giroud for scoring an outstanding goal of his own. In the 69th minute, with Arsenal hopelessly behind at 4-0, he chested an Alexis Sanchez cross into the air above himself, then fired past Manuel Neuer with a spectacular over-the-shoulder volley.
Giroud could have given up, or at least played out the match half-heartedly. Instead, the 29-year-old bagged his seventh goal in his last seven games for club and country.
