Bayern Munich made it through to the UEFA Champions League last 16, following their 5-1 (10-2 on aggregate) victory at the Emirates Stadium over Arsenal. Theo Walcott gave the Gunners the lead, but Robert Lewandowski, Arjen Robben, Douglas Costa and a brace from Arturo Vidal killed Arsenal's hopes in the second half.
Team news
Arsene Wenger made a few changes to his starting line up. He recalled Alexis Sanches alongside Aaron Ramsey and Theo Walcott. Olivier Giroud replaced Danny Welbeck, who injured himself during the warm-up. David Ospina retained his place between the posts, while Mesut Özil and Lucas Perez were benched.
Bayern head coach, Carlo Ancelotti only shifted his starting side in two positions compared to the first leg. Rafinha filled the gap for suspended Philipp Lahm and Franck Ribéry replaced Douglas Costa.
Arsenal have the better start
Both teams enjoyed possession in the opening 20 minutes as the pair produced some great passing. Although the visitors from Munich started off strong, Arsenal grew into the game minute by minute. Thus is was Walcott, who handed the hosts the leadas his superb finish following a great run beat Manuel Neuer. The Emirates Stadium began to dream again as Bayern were completely out of the game after Walcott’s strike.
The hosts remained creative and strong up front, as Walcott almost copied his first strike, following a superb pass from Shkodran Mustafi in the 34th minute. Though Walcott’s effort hit the side netting.
Bayern started to come out of their shell before the break aso Vidal had an effort from the distance but it ended up well off target. Robben then tried to find Lewandowski in the box after a great run along the right flank, though the Pole’s effort went narrowly wide.
The Londoners remained compact and held onto their lead going into the break as Bayern's efforts weren’t enough to level up the game. However, the visitors remained calm as their comfortable 5-2 lead on aggregate wasn’t to trouble them too much.
Red card for Koscielny, Lewandowski scored from the spot
The second half however, began less positive for the Gunners. Laurent Koscielny brought down Lewandowski in the area, which resulted in a clear penalty. Anastaslos Sidiropoulos first booked the Frenchman, but was advised by one of his assistants that his tackle denied an obvious goalscoring opportunity, which saw him sent off. The following penalty-kick was scored by Lewandowski himself.
In the 64th minute, Bayern could have taken the lead as Lewandowski’s effort following a one-two with Vidal was superbly saved by Ospina. Just a minute later however, Robben struck to make it 2-1 for the visitors.
Ospina’s attempt to clear the ball saw Robben take it on again. The Dutchman’s pass to Lewandowski was returned and Alexis Sanchez failed to clear. Robben struck ice-cold to completely end Arsenal's Champions League season. More and more Arsenal fans then left the stadium.
A super run from Douglas Costa along the left saw him cross for Lewandowski in the middle of the box, whose shot hit the frame of the goal. Arsenal began to struggle in every single position, whereas Bayern became stronger. A quick counter through Douglas Costa along the right ended up in another goal for the visitors, as Costa’s shot from outside the area left Ospina with no chance.
Huge slap for Arsenal
The Bavarians did not show any mercy as Vidal got his name on the scoresheet, following a terrible mistake by Mustafi, whose pass from the back did not find any of his team mates. The Chilean chipped the ball over Ospina while one-on-one with the 'keeper.
It then became an even more awful evening for the Gunners as Bayern grabbed a fifth. Costa and Vidal came running towards Ospina, where Costa assisted Vidal for a simple tap-in to make it 5-1 for the Germans.
Bayern Munich advanced to the next round of the Champions League, whereas Arsene Wenger is facing difficult days ahead in north London.