Champions League: When Bayern Munich demolished Arsenal 10-2

As Premier League and Bundesliga leaders gear up to face each other in the Champions League on Wednesday night, the scars of the two fixtures in 2016/17 season will still be fresh in North London

Bayern Munich's Arturo Vidal celebrates after their fifth goal in the second leg against Arsenal, which gave them a 10-1 aggregate lead in the Champions League clash. (Screengrab via YouTube)

As Premier League leaders Arsenal gear up to host Bundesliga toppers Bayern Munich in the Champions League on Wednesday, there is a sense of optimism in North London. While Arsenal are definitely in good form in the league and in the Champions League, hosting Bayern could reopen some old scars. Both these teams have faced off each other on 14 occasion with the German giants having an incredible 8 wins. While Arsenal have won three, there have been three draws as well. But the most telling part of this fixture is that in those 14 matches, Munich have scored 30 goals past Arsenal.

In the recent years, this is a fixture dominated by six-time champions Munich and here is a look at some forgettable outings for Arsenal. Here is a look at one such in the 2016/17 season which marked one of the lowest points in Arsene Wenger era.

What happened?

In an era where Real Madrid dominated the premier European club competition, Bayern Munich were not far behind. In this Round of 16 fixture, Carlo Ancellotti’s Munich made it one way traffic across both the legs winning both the ties with identical margin of 5-1. It all began at the Allianz Arena, where Arjen Robben opened the scoring before Alexis Sanchez equalised to leave the tie 1-1 at half-time. But goals from Robert Lewandowski, Thiago Alacantra and Thomas Muller in the second half cut Arsenal to size as they killed the contest at the end of the first leg.

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So when Arsenal hosted Bayern in the second-leg there wasn’t much hope as they had to win by a 4-0 margin to progress to the quarterfinals. One expected the Gunners to safe their face in front of their home fans, but Bayern were in no mood to take the gas off the pedal. Theo Walcott opened the scoring for the hosts and once again Arsenal lost the plot in the second half. With Laurent Koscielny sent off, a 10-man Arsenal were torn apart by Bayern with Lewandowski starting the party. Thereafter, Robben and Douglas Costa scored a goal each before Arturo Vidal netted a brace as “Arsene Out” banners popped across the Emirates Stands as 10-2 scoreline reflected where the club stood.