Five questions that need answering following Arsenal's 5-1 battering at Bayern Munich

16 February 2017 10:54

Arsene Wenger's position as Arsenal manager has come under increased scrutiny following Wednesday's Champions League thrashing at Bayern Munich.

The German champions completed a 5-1 rout of the Gunners, all but assuring themselves a spot in the quarter-finals despite the fact the second leg is still to be played - in London on March 7.

Here, we address the main questions that were being asked after Arsenal's Bavarian nightmare.

What went wrong in Munich?

At half-time, the mood among the 3,000-strong travelling fans at the stadium would have been relatively high. Arsenal had survived an early spell of dominance from their hosts to equalise through Alexis Sanchez and go in level at the interval. But none of their big players really put in a show. Mesut Ozil again toiled, Granit Xhaka was overrun in midfield and the defence suffered massively from Laurent Koscielny's departure through injury on 49 minutes, shipping three goals within 14 minutes of their captain's departure.

Does the result spell the end for Wenger?

Wenger's position has increasingly split the Arsenal fan-base, with some wanting to remain loyal to a man who has served them as manager for more than 20 years, and others calling for change. Wednesday's result certainly adds fuel to the fire for those supporters who believe the 67-year-old should leave when his contract expires in the summer. Tellingly, a number of Wenger's former players were all left stunned by the abject nature of the performance at the Allianz Arena, with the likes of Martin Keown and Lee Dixon joining Ian Wright in questioning whether Wenger should continue.

What's next for the Gunners?

Having lost two of their three Premier League games leading up to the trip to Germany, Arsenal's only genuine hope for a trophy now appears to be the FA Cup. But in their way is a potential fifth-round banana skin as they face non-league Sutton on their artificial pitch at Gander Green Lane on Monday night. Wenger, the joint-most successful manager in the competition's storied history with six winners' medals, would have likely rotated heavily for the tie but he may no longer be afforded the luxury of doing so.

But Arsenal are a good side, right?

On their day, the Gunners can fire down the very best, as evidenced when they beat Chelsea 3-0 earlier in the season. The trouble is, as a collective, the players rarely all enjoy their best days together and a number of their big names can all too often be on the periphery of a match. Ozil has been guilty of this, more so in recent weeks, while no-one in Arsenal yellow can claim to have had a good outing in Munich as they were clinically put to the sword.

Who will stand up and be counted?

It is difficult to say as there appears to be no real leaders on the pitch for Wenger to rely on at present. Koscielny is as close as he has, while Petr Cech's experience can help but he was left on the bench in Germany as Wenger opted to stick with David Ospina between the posts. ITV Sport pundit and former Manchester United skipper Roy Keane lambasted the fact Kieran Gibbs was wearing the captain's armband at the end of Wednesday's game, further highlighting that Wenger is struggling for trusted generals in the mould of Tony Adams or Patrick Vieira.

Source: PA