Bayern Munich, for the vast majority of this Champions League first knockout round first leg tie, gave Arsenal a footballing lesson as they ran out comfortable 3-1 winners at Emirates Stadium, marking their first ever competitive victory in the English capital and leaving the Gunners all but eliminated from the competition.
Arsenal actually started brightly, with the first opening of the encounter coming when Santi Cazorla scampered clear down the right hand side but couldn't quite pick out Theo Walcott. The Englishman, who was starting through the middle in place of Olivier Giroud, then found himself in a similar position but his cross was cleared before it could reach Aaron Ramsey who was arriving at the back post for a tap-in.
If the right hand side was giving Arsene Wenger hope then the left hand side of his team was doing the opposite, as an anonymous Lukas Podolski and out of position Thomas Vermaelen struggled to cope with Phillip Lahm and Thomas Muller.
The opening goal came from that side of the field too, as Muller was able to cut a cross back towards the edge of the penalty area for Toni Kroos to smash a volley into the ground and past Wojciech Szczesny. The Pole may well feel he reacted somewhat slowly when he watches it back, but a cracking finish none the less.
The match was perfectly set-up for the German side to dictate the pace of the game and subsequently they looked dominant, but the Gunners absolutely gifted them their second goal.
Zonal marking has been criticised all season at Emirates Stadium and there were more reasons for the fans to want to see the back of it when Muller scored from a corner. Daniel van Buyten wasn't challenged by Per Mertesacker, his header was feebly palmed away by Szczesny and Mikel Arteta lost Muller who smashed in from just underneath the crossbar.
The Emirates was eerily quiet as Bayern stroked the ball around with ease for the remainder of the half, that was until a chorus of boos greeted the halftime whistle as the home fans made their feelings known. The away side were undoubtedly on another level to their London opponents, but Arsenal certainly hadn't shown any where near the level of fight and spirit required to lift a flat crowd.
Turns out all that was needed to lift the crowd was some sloppy marking and poor goalkeeping, as Manuel Neuer and the Bayern Munich defence did their best Arsenal impression to allow Podolski to nod in to an empty net from a corner that shouldn't have been given, ironically enough it was the former Bayern man himself who had deflected an initial shot from Cazorla out for what should have been a goal kick.
The goal sparked Arsenal into life and they continued to press the Munich back line, with the introduction of Tomas Rosicky and Giroud on 70 minutes bringing them more impetus in the final third. The Frenchman was nearly on the scoresheet straight away but for a fine save by Neuer.
Eventually the home side were caught with too many numbers forward and were punished by Mario Mandzukic on 77 minutes. Captain Lahm ran about 70 yards, wasn't tracked by Cazorla, overlapped substitute Arjen Robben and rolled the ball across the 6 yard box for Mandzukic to make it 3-1.
The Gunners continued to have a go thanks to the driving force of star man Jack Wilshere, but he was running against an overwhelming German barricade with little help of note from his teammates.
The remainder of the match fizzled out with Wenger's men unable to fashion much of note in the final 10 minutes, and the away side could have had another goal but for a wayward effort from Mario Gomez, but no doubt they'll be more than happy with their nights work.
As for Arsenal, the focus is surely now on securing fourth place in the Premier League so they can once more take their place in the Champions League next season, although on this evening's evidence they are a long way short of seriously competing for Europe's premiere club football competition.
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