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Munich - Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger admitted his side had
"collapsed mentally" in their 5-1 Champions League rout by Bayern
Munich on Wednesday.
The under-pressure Frenchman said there were no excuses as
the Gunners faced a seventh successive last-16 exit after their latest mauling.
"We conceded the second goal and then the most
important thing was that we lost Laurent Koscielny (to injury). We collapsed
mentally," said Wenger who will now face fresh calls for his resignation.
Wenger's post-match press conference lasted barely five
minutes and was cut short after he answered just a few questions.
"I am not looking for excuses. Overall I must say they
were a better team than us, they played very well in the second half and we
dropped our level," he added.
"They were better than us, well done to Bayern. Their
third goal was a killer - we had no response." It is a shock of course to
lose at this level."
Wenger refused to discuss his personal mood after the match.
"How I feel I don't think is the most important but of
course it is disappointing," he said although pundits thought otherwise.
"He looked particularly wounded. I feel for him - he
almost needs to be protected from himself," former Arsenal defender Martin
Keown told BT Sport.
"This is a massive low point for him. This brings
forward the change that looks likely at the end of the season."
Arjen Robben opened the scoring after just 11 minutes at the
Allianz Arena when the Dutchman beat Arsenal goalkeeper David Ospina with a
fine left-foot strike into the top corner.
Chile international Alexis Sanchez levelled for Arsenal on
the half-hour, hitting in a rebound at the second attempt after he had a
controversial penalty saved by Manuel Neuer.
But Robert Lewandowski restored the German side's lead after
53 minutes, heading in a cross from Philipp Lahm with Thiago Alcantara adding a
third just three minutes later.
Thiago piled on the misery for Arsene Wenger's men with his
second and Bayern's fourth just after the hour with substitute Thomas Mueller
adding a fifth two minutes from time.
Wenger said the loss of Koscielny just after the break - with the scores at 1-1 - turned the game.
"It was a strange game because we played quite well in
the first half, we then conceded goals in quick succession," said Wenger.
"I'd have loved to have kept Laurent on the pitch and
it's difficult to measure the impact, but the fact is we have to cope with the
result. We had an extremely bad result tonight.
"It was difficult to shake off the two goals in quick
succession - we lost our organisation and our centre back."
The Frenchman said his side lost their composure after
Lewandowski's powerful header from a cross and suffered a "nightmare"
final 25 minutes.
"We were badly done for the second goal and the real
problems came after the third goal, because we lost our organisation," he
added.
"We were very jaded and vulnerable from that moment on. The last 25 minutes were a nightmare for us, because we had no response."
