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Former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher believes this season represents Arsenal’s ‘greatest chance’ to win the Premier League title.
The Gunners fell to a crushing 5-1 defeat to Bayern Munich in the Champions League on Wednesday night, but sit level on points with leaders Manchester City in the league.
Writing in his column for the Daily Mail , Carragher said: “It was a bad night, one of the worst Arsene Wenger and his squad have experienced, but they must not allow it to wreck their season.
Now is the time for Arsenal to seize the initiative as they could be waiting a long time for another golden opportunity
<p>Jamie Carragher</p>
“This is the best chance Arsenal have had to win the title since 2004, up there with 2007-08 when they crumbled at Birmingham and William Gallas sulked on the pitch.
“Now is the time for Arsenal to seize the initiative as they could be waiting a long time for another golden opportunity.”
The Gunners face North London rivals Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday on the back of five consecutive Premier League victories, including the 3-0 demolition of Manchester United.
Show all 22 1 /22Bayern Munich 5 Arsenal 1 player ratings Bayern Munich 5 Arsenal 1 player ratings Bayern Munich: Neuer: 6 out of 10 Must have thoroughly enjoyed having the best seat in the house for his team-mates demolition of one of England’s top teams.
Bayern Munich 5 Arsenal 1 player ratings Philipp Lahm: 6 out of 10 Provided a fabulous cross for Bayern’s second, though this was otherwise a rather quiet night for the captain who sat deeper to cover for Sanchez’s attacking threat. He didn’t really need to.
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Bayern Munich 5 Arsenal 1 player ratings Jerome Boateng: 6 out of 10 A tough-tackling display from Martinez, who was perhaps the only Bayern defender to be really noticeable. He impressed as he calmly whipped possession of Arsenal’s attackers, then efficiently used the ball to unleash his team-mates.
2015 Getty Images
Bayern Munich 5 Arsenal 1 player ratings Javi Martinez: 7 out of 10 A tough-tackling display from Martinez, who was perhaps the only Bayern defender to be really noticeable. He impressed as he calmly whipped possession of Arsenal’s attackers, then efficiently used the ball to unleash his team-mates.
Bayern Munich 5 Arsenal 1 player ratings David Alaba: 9 out of 10 Everything great about Alaba was epitomised in his goal, Bayern’s third. The left-back won the ball just outside the Arsenal area and curled in an unstoppable shot with his right foot. It was one of several frankly brilliant moments from the midfield.
Bayern Munich 5 Arsenal 1 player ratings Xabi Alonso: 8 out of 10 Won’t grab his team-mate’s headlines but was quietly excellent between midfield and defence, pinging the ball at will whilst covering a surprisingly great deal of ground.
Bayern Munich 5 Arsenal 1 player ratings Thiago Alcantara: 9 out of 10 A truly gorgeous lofted pass allowed Lewandowski to open the scoring was but the start of a fantastic display from the Spaniard. On more than one occasion he found seemingly impossible passes under severe pressure as he made this wonderful team tick.
Bayern Munich 5 Arsenal 1 player ratings Douglas Costa: 8 out of 10 After proving himself on the left against Bellerin at the Emirates he meted out a similar punishment on Monreal tonight. Such was his confidence that he was able to display seven stepovers as Monreal decided the best form of defence was running away.
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Bayern Munich 5 Arsenal 1 player ratings Thomas Muller: 8 out of 10 Looked far more confident in a more central position than he had wide right at the Emirates. Somehow he always seemed to find space in Arsenal’s penalty area, and with that space he managed to make telling contributions. His first goal may have been somewhat streaky, but why is it he always scores those goals?
2015 Getty Images
Bayern Munich 5 Arsenal 1 player ratings Kingsley Coman: 8 out of 10 Proved emphatically why he was preferred to Arjen Robben. Every time he ran at Mathieu Debuchy he got past him, delivering crosses that were begging to be converted. Coman was withdrawn early and Debuchy must have been tempted to hug Guardiola on his departure.
Bayern Munich 5 Arsenal 1 player ratings Robert Lewandowski: 8 out of 10 Arsenal got lucky once at the Emirates, they didn’t again. He took his early chance stylishly with a leaning header, before combining well with Muller and the wide men to craft chances. Only the excellence of Cech denied him a first-half hat-trick.
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Bayern Munich 5 Arsenal 1 player ratings Arsenal: Petr Cech: 8 out of 10 Within 20 minutes he had already made four very impressive saves as his defence let him down time and again. Despite the brutal nature of the scoreline Cech was excellent and deserves credit.
2015 The Arsenal Football Club Plc
Bayern Munich 5 Arsenal 1 player ratings Mathieu Debuchy: 5 out of 10 He may be rusty but Debuchy was also just not very good against Kingsley Coman. He never looked to impose himself physically on the youngster, simply sitting back and allowing him to breeze past. Made one frankly excellent tackle to whip the ball off.
Bayern Munich 5 Arsenal 1 player ratings Per Mertesacker: 3 out of 10 Time and again Arsenal’s captain let his team-mates down with poor defending. Yes he was under severe pressure but to pass the ball away with such regularity left his team constantly on the back foot.
2015 The Arsenal Football Club Plc
Bayern Munich 5 Arsenal 1 player ratings Gabriel: 4 out of 10 Committed but at times brainless play typified Gabriel. His eagerness to get to the action cost Arsenal dearly for their opener, as he gave Lewandowski the whole penalty area to operate in. Compared to the calm anticipation of Koscielny this was harum-scarum; and it didn’t help.
2015 The Arsenal Football Club Plc
Bayern Munich 5 Arsenal 1 player ratings Nacho Monreal: 4 out of 10 Seemed to have learned little from his compatriot Hector Bellerin’s chastening experience against Costa. He just could not seem to slow Costa’s advance, or Arjen Robben’s when he took over. On several occasions he simply seemed to back off his winger, allowing them to do what they wanted.
2015 The Arsenal Football Club Plc
Bayern Munich 5 Arsenal 1 player ratings Francis Coquelin: 6 out of 10 Often seen diving into tackles that his team-mates had missed in what was a tough night for Coquelin. He did his best, but with Bayern on this sort of menacing form it was hugely difficult for him to win the ball back.
Bayern Munich 5 Arsenal 1 player ratings Santi Cazorla: 5 out of 10 This match reminded Wenger that, for all the remarkable adaptions Cazorla has made this year, he is not a defensive midfielder. He cannot reliably tackle, and he looked spooked to see Bayern’s blitz pressing in the early stages.
Bayern Munich 5 Arsenal 1 player ratings Joel Campbell: 5 out of 10 More so than any other player on the pitch he seemed to give up once Bayern turned the gas on. He was full of endeavour, if not quality, in attack but was at best liability in defence. He failed to even track Alaba, let alone deal with him.
2015 The Arsenal Football Club Plc
Bayern Munich 5 Arsenal 1 player ratings Mesut Ozil: 7 out of 10 One of the few who will leave this game with some credit in the bank. Unfortunately the dreadfully unlucky handball that cost Arsenal an equaliser typified his night. He was good, but nothing seemed to work out for him.
2015 The Arsenal Football Club Plc
Bayern Munich 5 Arsenal 1 player ratings Alexis Sanchez: 4 out of 10 He’ll take credit for an assist but frankly this was very, very bad for much of the match by Arsenal’s star man. They needed him to perform, but he looked meek and didn’t track back until his team were 4-0 down.
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Bayern Munich 5 Arsenal 1 player ratings Olivier Giroud: 7 out of 10 Early on he looked like he could give Bayern real problems, consistently winning the ball in the air against Boateng. As Arsenal looked to counter in the second period he made crucial touches on the counter, but his team-mates often were not able to make the crucial contributions. Took his one real chance spectacularly with a bicycle kick.
2015 The Arsenal Football Club Plc
With Chelsea languishing in the bottom half, United suffering an identity crisis and Liverpool undergoing another transitional period under new boss Jurgen Klopp, Carragher feels now is the time for Arsenal to strike.
“Arsenal have to exploit the glimmer of light in front of them,” he continued. “They have been the best team in 2015, taking 67 points from their 30 Premier League matches, but being the best from January to December means nothing.
“Many will expect them to fold when the pressure is on and I do worry about Per Mertesacker in the centre of their defence. But there are reasons why they can see the job through this time.”
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