Arsène Wenger accuses referee of killing Bayern Munich game

Arsenal v FC Bayern Muenchen – UEFA Champions League Round of 16

After an insipid 2-0 home defeat to Bayern Munich, Arsène Wenger accused the Italian referee Nicola Rizzoli of “killing” the game. He also said that the German Mesut Özil had failed a mental test as he stared at the prospect of a fourth consecutive exit at the first knock-out round. By the end, the Frenchman was left fuming at not just the referee, but several of his players as well.

His outburst was completely understandable, and everything would have turned out differently if Özil had taken his penalty, instead shooting straight at Manuel Neuer in the ninth minute. Ever since missing his second penalty in the current Champions League campaign, the German’s head went down and Wenger himself admitted that.

“He was affected by the penalty miss,” Wenger said.

“You could see, even five or 10 minutes later, he was still shaking his head. It had a huge impact on his performance. You are always concerned about the confidence of your players because that is your petrol in the team. It is what gives them the courage and desire to play.

“We needed that penalty tonight. You could see Bayern were on the ropes. We had three good chances in the first 15 minutes. And I feel to make them more insecure we needed to score that penalty but he missed it.”

However, he was furious about Rizzoli’s decision to send off Wojciech Szczesny in the 38th minute, after the goalkeeper had brought down Arjen Robben inside the area. Although David Alaba missed the penalty, the 10 men of Arsenal couldn’t hold on for too much longer. And whilst it is true that Robben was fouled by the Arsenal goalkeeper, it is highly debatable as to whether Robben had been denied a clear goalscoring opportunity.

“The red card didn’t change the game, it killed the game,” Wenger said.

“Until then it was top quality but in the second half it was boring for the neutrals. It was one-way traffic. The referee made a decision that killed the game. These rules are different in every country and in Italy you get sent off for these kind of fouls.

“Our keeper genuinely went for the ball, he touched Robben and he certainly made more of it. I told Robben that. He has enough experience to know to make more of it. Overall, I felt Bayern made more of every single contact.

After losing Kieran Gibbs to an injury on 31 minutes, Arsenal had only substitutions left and when Szczesny was sent off,  Lukasz Fabianski came one, which meant that Wenger had his hands tied thereafter. This played into Guardiola’s hands as he made some tactical tweaks to ensure that his team finished as comfortable winners.

“We had lost Gibbs, we lost a goalkeeper … we made two changes and were down to 10 men. You cannot bring anyone else on in case anyone gets injured. You run after the ball and they bring fresh players on. I just feel frustrated. There was no game at all after half-time.”

Wenger also said that he did not see Szczesny making an obscene gesture as he left the field. In a game that saw Arsenal played off the park,  Wenger was left merely to maintain that the tie was not yet over and that the Gunners would fight until the bitter end.