What Arsenal must do to progress in the Champions League, and why fans shouldn't give up hope

Arsene Wenger's side have a surmountable mountain to climb

Thursday 05 November 2015 10:57

Alexis Sanchez and Olivier Giroud

(GETTY IMAGES)

Arsenal's defeat to Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena has made progress in the Champions League for the Gunners appear near impossible. However, reaching the knock-out stages is perhaps not quite as unlikely as it seems.

Arsene Wenger's side had a dreadful start to their European campaign, losing their opening two games to Olympiakos and Dinamo Zagreb. But a win over Bayern Munich at the Emirates gave the club hope.

The 5-1 loss to Bayern on Wednesday, the club's biggest ever defeat in the Champions League, leaves Arsene Wenger's side on three points, six behind their German conquerors and Olympiakos with two games to play.

So what must happen for Arsenal to progress?

Next up for Arsenal is Dinamo Zagreb at the Emirates. Arsenal have to win that. They must also hope Bayern Munich beat Olympiakos that same night, a result which seems likely based on the performance of Pep Guardiola's side against Arsenal and that Bayern won 3-0 when the sides met in Greece in September.

It will then all come down to Arsenal's game against Olympiakos just outside Athens. Again, Arsenal have to win, but not only that, they must win by a two goal margin. That's because a victory would put them level on nine points with their Greek opponents, meaning they would be split on head-to-head record. Olympiakos won 3-2 at the Emirates earlier in the month.

Bayern Munich 5 Arsenal 1 player ratings

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1/22Bayern Munich 5 Arsenal 1 player ratings

Must have thoroughly enjoyed having the best seat in the house for his team-mates demolition of one of England’s top teams.

Provided a fabulous cross for Bayern’s second, though this was otherwise a rather quiet night for the captain who sat deeper to cover for Sanchez’s attacking threat. He didn’t really need to.

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A tough-tackling display from Martinez, who was perhaps the only Bayern defender to be really noticeable. He impressed as he calmly whipped possession of Arsenal’s attackers, then efficiently used the ball to unleash his team-mates.

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A tough-tackling display from Martinez, who was perhaps the only Bayern defender to be really noticeable. He impressed as he calmly whipped possession of Arsenal’s attackers, then efficiently used the ball to unleash his team-mates.

Everything great about Alaba was epitomised in his goal, Bayern’s third. The left-back won the ball just outside the Arsenal area and curled in an unstoppable shot with his right foot. It was one of several frankly brilliant moments from the midfield.

Won’t grab his team-mate’s headlines but was quietly excellent between midfield and defence, pinging the ball at will whilst covering a surprisingly great deal of ground.

A truly gorgeous lofted pass allowed Lewandowski to open the scoring was but the start of a fantastic display from the Spaniard. On more than one occasion he found seemingly impossible passes under severe pressure as he made this wonderful team tick.

After proving himself on the left against Bellerin at the Emirates he meted out a similar punishment on Monreal tonight. Such was his confidence that he was able to display seven stepovers as Monreal decided the best form of defence was running away.

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Looked far more confident in a more central position than he had wide right at the Emirates. Somehow he always seemed to find space in Arsenal’s penalty area, and with that space he managed to make telling contributions. His first goal may have been somewhat streaky, but why is it he always scores those goals?

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Proved emphatically why he was preferred to Arjen Robben. Every time he ran at Mathieu Debuchy he got past him, delivering crosses that were begging to be converted. Coman was withdrawn early and Debuchy must have been tempted to hug Guardiola on his departure.

Arsenal got lucky once at the Emirates, they didn’t again. He took his early chance stylishly with a leaning header, before combining well with Muller and the wide men to craft chances. Only the excellence of Cech denied him a first-half hat-trick.

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Within 20 minutes he had already made four very impressive saves as his defence let him down time and again. Despite the brutal nature of the scoreline Cech was excellent and deserves credit.

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He may be rusty but Debuchy was also just not very good against Kingsley Coman. He never looked to impose himself physically on the youngster, simply sitting back and allowing him to breeze past. Made one frankly excellent tackle to whip the ball off.

Time and again Arsenal’s captain let his team-mates down with poor defending. Yes he was under severe pressure but to pass the ball away with such regularity left his team constantly on the back foot.

2015 The Arsenal Football Club Plc

Committed but at times brainless play typified Gabriel. His eagerness to get to the action cost Arsenal dearly for their opener, as he gave Lewandowski the whole penalty area to operate in. Compared to the calm anticipation of Koscielny this was harum-scarum; and it didn’t help.

2015 The Arsenal Football Club Plc

Seemed to have learned little from his compatriot Hector Bellerin’s chastening experience against Costa. He just could not seem to slow Costa’s advance, or Arjen Robben’s when he took over. On several occasions he simply seemed to back off his winger, allowing them to do what they wanted.

2015 The Arsenal Football Club Plc

Often seen diving into tackles that his team-mates had missed in what was a tough night for Coquelin. He did his best, but with Bayern on this sort of menacing form it was hugely difficult for him to win the ball back.

This match reminded Wenger that, for all the remarkable adaptions Cazorla has made this year, he is not a defensive midfielder. He cannot reliably tackle, and he looked spooked to see Bayern’s blitz pressing in the early stages.

More so than any other player on the pitch he seemed to give up once Bayern turned the gas on. He was full of endeavour, if not quality, in attack but was at best liability in defence. He failed to even track Alaba, let alone deal with him.

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One of the few who will leave this game with some credit in the bank. Unfortunately the dreadfully unlucky handball that cost Arsenal an equaliser typified his night. He was good, but nothing seemed to work out for him.

2015 The Arsenal Football Club Plc

He’ll take credit for an assist but frankly this was very, very bad for much of the match by Arsenal’s star man. They needed him to perform, but he looked meek and didn’t track back until his team were 4-0 down.

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Early on he looked like he could give Bayern real problems, consistently winning the ball in the air against Boateng. As Arsenal looked to counter in the second period he made crucial touches on the counter, but his team-mates often were not able to make the crucial contributions. Took his one real chance spectacularly with a bicycle kick.

2015 The Arsenal Football Club Plc

So how tough will beating Olympiakos by two goals be? Well, when Arsenal last played at the Karaiskakis Stadium in 2012, they lost 2-1. The time before that they lost 3-1 and in 2009 they lost 1-0. Manchester United, the last Premier League side to play at the Karaiskakis Stadium, lost 2-0. However, as already mentioned, Bayern Munich managed to win by a three goal margin there earlier this season.

Remaining fixtures...

Tuesday 24th November

Arsenal vs Dinamo Zagreb (Emirates)

Bayern Munich vs Olympiakos (Allianz Arena)

Wednesday 9th December

Olympiakos vs Arsenal (Karaiskakis Stadium)

Dinamo Zagreb vs Bayern Munich (Stadion Maksimir)

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