Arsenal, which has qualified for the knockout stage of the Champions League in each of the past 15 seasons, is now hanging on by a thread.
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Arsenal sit fourth in Group F with three points from four games, trailing second-placed Olympiacos by six points.
The Gunners must in any event try to pick themselves up before Sunday’s London derby at home to Tottenham.
“You have to give credit to Bayern for their quality”. Manager Rafa Benitez has had to deal with a spate of injuries to key first team players in recent weeks, with Gareth Bale and James Rodriguez playing no part in the match on Tuesday, although the latter did make the bench.
He said: “Defensively we were extremely poor”.
“We can not play to draw”, said captain Philipp Lahm.
We still have the chance to qualify but those chances are at a minimum.
The Gunners were torn apart by Bayern Munich on Wednesday night at the Allianz Arena, as Pep Guardiola’s men won 5-1 on matchday four.
Theo Walcott, Aaron Ramsey and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain have joined long-term absentees Jack Wilshere and Danny Welbeck in a crowded treatment room for recent games, with right-back Hector Bellerin definitely out of the weekend’s game against Spurs and Koscienly a doubt. The former English Premier League (EPL) champions must now beat Zagreb at home on November 24 and hope that Bayern beat Olympiakos, then beat Olympiakos by at least two goals in December. He is not giving up on keeping that run going, although he said: “It’s a small chance but it is a real one”.
He added: “They have done well”.
“Anyway we now focus on the championship on Sunday and turn up with a different performance, we are in a strong position in the league because if we play like we did today we are going nowhere”.
“I’m fairly confident that Bayern will beat Olympiacos”.
Having had a lengthy injury list in Munich, Wenger proved he had not lost his sense of humour by quipping they had picked up no new knocks, “apart from in a few heads”. Bayern top the group on nine points.
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Arsenal are indeed the form team of 2015, winning 21 of their 30 league matches since January, but such statements out of Wenger only highlight that his sides have failed to string an entire league campaign together since their last title in 2003-04.
