It was inevitable. Arsenal staring over the precipice, Bayern looking in ominous form to retain their champions league title and once again February being the month Arsenal crumble. However for the first thirty minutes of the Bayern Munich game Arsenal displayed the sort of form that has propelled them to second in the premier league and facing a quarter final tie with Everton in the FA cup. Bayern were struggling to live with the quick passing and the interplay between the midfielders. Although the defeat was mentally and physically draining this could be a real blessing in disguise for the Gunners?
What if was the big question stemming from the first tie against Bayern Munich. What if Ozil had converted his penalty? What if Monreal had tracked Robben? What if Szczęsny hadn’t been so reckless when Robben was bearing down upon his goal? Who knows what might have happened, however the fact is “Football is a mistakes game” as summed up perfectly by Pep Guardiola after the game. Despite the result there were plenty of positives to take from the game. Jack Wilshire seemed to be back to his best with an outstanding display particularly before the sending off incident. Our whole team were very resolute throughout the game restricting Bayern to only two goals with ten men for a sustained period of time. A huge gamble from Wenger paid off as Yaya Sanogo entered the fray with an incredible display of strength and composure against supposedly two of the world’s best defenders in Dante and Boateng. He was aerially dominant and looked ideal to replace Giroud who appears to be affected with allegations over his personal life. However the biggest plus point of the whole evening was that for thirty minutes of the game Arsenal can well and truly say that they outplayed the best team in the world at this moment in time.
With the injuries stockpiling it was debatable whether Arsenal would even be able to compete on three fronts this season. Arsenal have a truly great chance of winning the FA cup this season after overcoming a resourceful Liverpool team. Without being at their best Arsenal completed the task with a relative degree of ease excluding the panic in the last twenty minutes. Similarly to his performance against Bayern Yaya Sanogo again caused another centre back pairing a torrid afternoon. This time Skertel and Agger were the Frenchman’s victims. The defending was once again dogged from the Gunners and proved pivotal in repelling the deadly SAS. Next up Arsenal entertain Everton in the quarter finals. If they were able to overcome this obstacle they would find themselves in a great position to remove the trophy drought tag that has plagued them in recent seasons.
Additionally winning the Premier League is also a realistic aim for the Gunners this season. They lie second behind Mourinho’s Chelsea but face stiff competition from not only Chelsea but Man City and outsiders Liverpool. With only a handful of game left Arsenal must overcome a difficult run of games which are quickly dawning upon them. With no real cub pulling away in this seasons race for the title Arsenal have a great chance to stake a claim on a prize that has eluded Wenger for so many years.
To think the defeat to Bayern won’t be demoralising for the players and fans alike would be wrong. Despite this they must take great hope from the way they initially played against the reigning European champions. It may also offer greater hope to their chances in the FA cup and the league where the possibility of winning some silverware was also greater. So this defeat could well be a blessing in disguise for Arsenal.