[Player Ratings] Arsenal vs Bayern Munich – Ozil Worst, Kroos MVP

Ozil Arsenal
wikimedia: Ronnie McDonald

A fantastic display of possession from Bayern put them in the driver’s seat to the next round. Following the sending off of Szczesny in the first half and a missed penalty from both sides, the Gunners were torn apart by the Munich midfield.

Arsenal

Wojciech Szczesny- 3.5

Provided a great acrobatic save early on to deny Toni Kroos’ powerful long range shot, but changed the game completely after getting sent off for an aggressive challenge on Robben.

Bacary Sagna- 5.5

Had a lot to do at the back maintaining the Bayern attack and was unable to attack like his usual self.

Per Mertesacker- 5.5

Was to blame for the second goal after Muller came flying in for the header, but held up the Arsenal defense quite well the rest of the match.

Laurent Koscielny- 6.0

Had a lot to deal with at the back against the relentless Munich attack, but was one of the few bright displays on the Gunner’s side.

Kieran Gibbs- 6.0

Looked like a threat early on when Arsenal were really pressing, but was unlucky to have been injured and taken off.

Jack Wilshere- 6.5

Was at the front of each Arsenal attack early on with great distribution of the ball and challenging of every ball. Looked exhausted though after the red card, but continued to push.

Mesut Özil- 5.5 Flop of the Match

Looked dangerous early on with Wilshere carrying out the Arsenal attack and supplying Sanogo with some great passes. Managed to get a penalty to which he hit right at Neuer. Following the card, Ozil seemed to be walking around the pitch and wasn’t much of a threat.

Santi Cazorla- 5.5

Had one opportunity to trouble Neuer early on, but had to leave the pitch to make way for Fabianski.

Mathieu Flamini – 6.0

Helping out early blocking multiple shots and contributing some great tackles.

Yaya Sanogo- 6.0

Was very threatening to the Munich defense early on, as they struggled to keep up with his power. Almost scored on a low strike from an Oxade cross, but disappeared justifiably in the second half. Was he the correct choice at the front ahead of Giroud?

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain- 6.0

Arsenal’s best hope of attack. Got behind the Bayern defenders several times early on.

Substitutions

Lukasz Fabianski- 5.5

Lucky on the penalty kick, as he guessed incorrectly, but was secure in goal the rest of the game. Nothing he could do on both goals.

Monreal- 4.5

Had a difficult time following up on Gibb’s performance, as the red card gave him more problems. Could not contain Robben as the winger glided through almost every time.

Tomas Rosicky-5.5

Came in for Oxade late in the game and could not make much of a difference as Munich was on the ball the majority of the time.

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FC BAYERN

Manuel Neuer- 7.0

Did great to deny Ozil on the penalty. Managed to have some superb saves early on, but had little troubling him after the card.

Dante- 6.0

Had trouble with Sanogo when Arsenal was threatening early on, but after the red card, there was little for Dante to worry about.

Jerome Boateng- 4.5

Had difficulty with the Arsenal attack early on and conceded the penalty with a poor challenge. Subbed out for Rafinha at half.

Philipp Lahm- 7.5

Helped to control the ball for the Munich midfield all game long. Providing clever passes to the Bayern attack.  Provided the assist with a great cross to Muller to put Bayern in cruise control next tie. Class display from the german captain.

David Alaba- 6.0

Went wide with the penalty, but was a constant threat all game and troubled Sagna for a majority of the game.

Thiago Alcántara- 6.5

Helped distribute the ball throughout the midfield intelligently and linked up with Gotze and Kroos all game to threaten the Arsenal defense.

Javi Martínez- 5.5

Had very little to do at the back, but clear away any loose balls and play it safe.

Arjen Robben- 7.0

Tormented the Arsenal defense with his runs all game. Very unlucky not to get on the scoresheet, as he had many curling shots narrowly missing the Arsenal goal. Was the victim in the red card incident which got Bayern a penalty.

Toni Kroos – 8.5 MAN OF THE MATCH

Toni Kroos talked the talk regarding his contract. Easily the most dangerous man on the field. Orchestrated the Bayern offense with brilliant passing. Beautiful curling one timed strike into the corner from outside the box got Bayern on the board. Could have doubled his tally later on hitting the post with a low accurate attempt. Man of the Match.

Mario Götze –  6.5

Controlled the ball all game long along with the other midfielders and was very dangerous early on. Between him, Lahm, Kroos, Robben and Thiago, Arsenal had very little time on the ball. Fine display from the youngster but could not finish his chances.

Mario Mandzukic- 5.5

Was not as dangerous as the usual Mandzukic, but looked threatening in the final third winning some headers and challenging the Arsenal defenders.

Substitutions

Rafinha- 6.5

Superb substitution from Guardiola, as the defender got a lot of the ball in the second half and provided many dangerous crosses into the Arsenal box.

Claudio Pizarro- 5.0

Replaced Tiago towards the final quarter of the game and did not make much of a difference.

Thomas Müller-7.0

Really sealed the deal on this tie with his header off the Lahm cross in the closing minutes of the game. Some could say he deserved a penalty also at the end of the game after being fouled in a similar manner to Ozil’s first penalty.