Arsenal 'in great shape' claims Wenger after Bayern humbling

Dom Farrell

Arsenal 'in great shape' claims Wenger after Bayern humbling image

Arsene Wenger tried to look at the bigger picture as his stock at Arsenal took another pummelling in the 5-1 Champions League defeat to Bayern Munich.

Fan protests before the second leg of the last-16 tie called for an end to the Frenchman's 21-year reign in North London and the Bundesliga champions ruthlessly replicated the scoreline from last month's first leg at the Allianz Arena after Laurent Koscielny was sent off.

Wenger 'revolted' by refereeing display

Theo Walcott gave the Gunners a deserved first-half lead but the wheels came off for Arsenal when Robert Lewandowski converted a 55th-minute penalty having been brought down by Koscielny when through on goal.

Goals from Arjen Robben, Douglas Costa and an Arturo Vidal brace followed as fans streamed out of Emirates Stadium in their thousands.

Asked what needed to change at Arsenal, having again neglected to answer questions about his future when his contract expires at the end of the season, Wenger said: "What needs to change at this club? What do you mean by that?

Arsene Wenger Arsenal 2017

"I think this club is in great shape but is at the moment going through a very difficult situation. What needs to change is the result in the next game.

"You are always worried for headlines. I am here to speak about football, not about my future.

Horror show spells the end for Wenger

"Tonight I thought there was no uncertainty in our game, we played very well.

"It's difficult, when you are 5-1 down against Bayern and you have to score four goals.

"You are down to 10 men - if you go forward you know you will be caught on the counter-attack; if you don’t go forward people will say, 'why didn't you at least try to score goals?' It is an impossible situation."

Dom Farrell

Dom Farrell Photo

Dom is the senior content producer for Sporting News UK. He previously worked as fan brands editor for Manchester City at Reach Plc. Prior to that, he built more than a decade of experience in the sports journalism industry, primarily for the Stats Perform and Press Association news agencies. Dom has covered major football events on location, including the entirety of Euro 2016 and the 2018 World Cup in Paris and St Petersburg respectively, along with numerous high-profile Premier League, Champions League and England international matches. Cricket and boxing are his other major sporting passions and he has covered the likes of Anthony Joshua, Tyson Fury, Wladimir Klitschko, Gennadiy Golovkin and Vasyl Lomachenko live from ringside.