Ten-man Arsenal were knocked out of the Champions League at
the last-16 stage for the seventh successive season following a
second-half capitulation against Bayern Munich.
A debated decision in the 53rd minute shattered any hopes of the
Gunners becoming the first side in Champions League history to overturn a
four-goal deficit.
They led through Theo Walcott’s stunning 20th minute goal, before
Bayern were awarded a penalty that also resulted in the sending off of
defender Laurent Koscielny.
The Frenchman was initially shown a yellow by referee Anastasios
Sidiropoulos for his foul on Robert Lewandowski inside the area before
it was upgraded to a red once he realised Koscielny made no attempt to
win the ball.
Gunners boss Arsene Wenger looked perplexed by the sudden change of heart by the official.
Lewandowski placed his spot-kick beyond the reach of David Ospina to
give Bayern a 6-2 aggregate lead and effectively kill off the tie.
The home side then folded as Bayern scored three goals in 12 minutes.
Arjen Robben robbed Alexis Sanchez of the ball before Douglas Costa
made it 3-1 with a stunning solo goal.
Fellow midfielder Arturo Vidal grabbed a late double, first with an impudent chip before slotting in from Costa’s square pass.