Podolski Gagal Selamatkan Arsenal Terdepak dari Liga Champions
Podolski`s Goal not Enough as Gunners are Knocked Out
Editor : Ismail Gani
Translator : Novita Cahyadi
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Munich (B2B) - Arsenal harus angkat koper dari gelaran Liga Champions Eropa usai disingkirkan Bayern Munchen dengan agregat 3-1 Rabu dini hari ini setelah pada leg kedua berakhir seri 1-1.
Laga leg kedua yang digelar di markas Bayern Munchen, tim asuhan Arsene Wenger harus mengejar defisit dua gol akibat kekalahan pada laga pertama di London dua pekan lalu.
Di babak pertama leg kedua, Arsenal yang tampil tanpa Walcott, Wilshere dan Ramsey tampak kesulitan meladeni kekuatan lini tengah juara bertahan Bayern, seperti dilansir ESPN.
Munchen yang sudah unggul agregat 2-0 di leg pertama tetap mengusung sepakbola menyerang dan menguasai penguasaan hingga 68% di paruh pertama.
Namun rapatnya barisan pertahanan Arsenal membuat penguasaan bola Munchen berakhir tanpa gol.
Babak kedua baru berjalan 10 menit sebuah umpan Ribery berhasil diselesaikan Bastian Schweinsteiger, 1-0 keunggulan Munchen.
Namun dua menit kemudian kubu tuan rumah tersentak oleh serangan balik yang dilakukan Lukas Podolski memanfaatkan kesalahan Philip Lahm.
Gol Podolski sontak membakar semangat pemain Arsenal untuk mengejar dua gol lagi.
Pelatih Arsene Wenger pun memasukkan penyerang Serge Gnabry untuk menggantikan Mikel Arteta guna menambah daya gedor tim gudang peluru.
Namun gol yang dinanti tidak kunjung tiba hingga menit ke-90. Justru kubu Munchen yang mendapatkan hadiah penalti karena Koncielny melakukan pelanggaran di kotak 12 pas.
Sayang sepakan penalti Thomas Muller sukses dibendung Lukasz Fabianski dan skor imbang 1-1 bertahan hingga laga usai.
Livescore mencatat Munchen menguasai 65 persen pengusaan bola dengan melepaskan delapan tembakan on target ke gawang Arsenal.
Hasil imbang ini membawa Bayern Muenchen melaju ke perempat final Liga Champions dengan agregat 3-1.
Tersingkirnya Arsenal juga mengingatkan laga 16 besar Liga Champions tahun lalu ketika tim London Utara harus kandas ditangan FC Hollywood.
Munich - Arsenal bowed out of the Champions League despite a spirited 1-1 draw against holders Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena.
It was always going to be a tall order for Arsene Wenger´s men after losing the first leg of their last-16 tie 2-0 in London last month. So it proved, despite a resilient effort from the Premier League side, who equalised through Lukas Podolski having fallen behind to Bastian Schweinsteiger´s close-range effort early in the second half.
There was late drama when Lukasz Fabianski saved a stoppage-time penalty from Thomas Muller for what looked a soft decision for a challenge by Laurent Koscielny on Arjen Robben.
However, unlike previous campaigns all is not yet lost for Arsenal this season, as they head to Tottenham on Sunday looking to get themselves back in the title race and can look ahead to an FA Cup semi-final against Wigan at Wembley in April.
The contest got off to a low-key start by both sides, which was understandable given the importance of the first goal in the balance of the tie. The first opening arrived on 20 minutes when David Alaba darted down the left and fed Franck Ribery, whose floated cross towards the back post was blasted down and over the bar by Robben.
Bayern thought they had sewn up the tie on 27 minutes when Javi Martinez fired home a chipped free-kick by Thiago, but the offside flag was swiftly raised.
Arsenal came close to snatching a crucial away goal when Olivier Giroud´s header from a corner was plucked out of the air by Manuel Neuer. Club-record signing Mesut Ozil, whose early penalty miss in the first leg proved so costly, was replaced at half-time by Tomas Rosicky, understood to because of a tight hamstring.
Bayern looked to have made the tie safe when Schweinsteiger converted Franck Ribery´s cross on 55 minutes. Arsenal, though, produced a quick response to level when Podolski, the former Bayern striker, crashed the ball in at the near post.
But despite a good spell from the visitors it was not enough to pull off an upset and at least Fabianski´s late save avoided what would have been an unjust defeat.
