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, having also lost the first leg in Germany 5-1.
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 France centre-back was initially shown a
yellow card by referee Anastasios Sidiropoulos for his foul on Robert
Lewandowski inside the area - but it was upgraded to a red once he
decided 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 four goals in 17 minutes. Arjen Robben
robbed Alexis Sanchez of the ball and beat Ospina, 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.
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