TEMPLATE ANALYSIS

There was a depressing familiarity to Arsenal’s defeat to Bayern Munich at the Emirates stadium last night.
Arsene Wenger’s men are currently sitting near the top of the Premier League where they have been for most of the season, and yet that didn’t matter when faced with the current European champions.
Like Manchester City the night before, Arsenal were taught a lesson by the German Champions who many argue are a stronger side this season than the one that destroyed Barcelona in the last.
After a strong start the Germans took full advantage of a penalty miss by Mesut Ozil in the first half to put the game out of Arsenal’s reach in the second with goals from the highly rated Toni Kroos and Thomas Muller.
Arsenal like City face an uphill struggle when they leave the comfort of their own turf for the second leg of this tie.
Already, winning this competition looks well out of their reach, and that of Manuel Pellegrini’s side whose outstanding performances in the Premier League now looked to have flattered to deceive.
Of course, the impartial observer can’t wait to see Pep Guardiola’s German side face the Spanish side he built up into the European Champions.
But that still leaves the English sides who are at the moment a yard short when they line up against the European elite.
And that doesn’t bode well for England’s chances in the World Cup later this year – or for the chances of any Premier League manager like David Moyes who is hoping to attract talent like Toni Kroos to a team that was once called Manchester United.