Bayern Munich deepened the sense of crisis at Arsenal on Tuesday and took a huge step towards the Champions League quarter-finals with a comprehensive 3-1 away win over the English outfit in their last 16 first leg clash.
Another former European champion Porto also won, inflicting Spanish side Malaga’s first defeat of their maiden Champions League campaign with a 1-0 win in Portugal to extend their unbeaten run to 20 matches in all competitions.
Bayern took a firm grip of their match early on with goals from Toni Kroos and Thomas Mueller, and although compatriot Lukas Podolski reduced the deficit, Croatian Mario Mandzukic added a deserved third late on to leave Arsenal staring at an eighth successive season without a trophy.
It will heap even more pressure on their manager Arsene Wenger, who had gone into the match on the back of an FA Cup exit to Championship side Blackburn Rovers and a tetchy performance in the eve-of-match press conference.
However, the esoteric Frenchman was gracious in defeat, accepting that they had been well beaten and that they faced a tough task to overcome the deficit in the second leg.
“I cannot hide from the fact that it will be extremely difficult in the return leg,” he said.