Arsenal midfielder, Mesut Ozil, has described their 10-2 aggregate thrashing in the hands of Bayern Munich in the Champions League, as one of the most humiliating defeats in his career.
The Gunners were beaten 5-1 home and away, as they exited the competition in the round of 16.
Ozil featured in both games and was heavily criticised for his display in the first leg in particular.
“The devastating loss at Bayern Munich this season is undoubtedly one of the darkest hours of my footballing career,” Ozil says in his book ‘Gunning for Glory’.
“It’s in the top five of the most humiliating defeats I’ve suffered.
“We were positively prepared for the game. Arsene Wenger had revealed to us his game plan. He was very clear about his ideas – and they were good ones.
“Our intention was to go all out for Bayern’s central defender Mats Hummels; to prevent him from opening up the game which he does so brilliantly.
“In this way we hoped we’d be able to stop Bayern from building up the play at an early stage and disrupt their rhythm.
“Of course I could go on about why our game plan didn’t work. I could look for excuses. But I’m not going to. What went on between us in the dressing room after the match is nobody’s business.
“Nor is what Wenger considered our failures to be in his post-match analysis. The fact is, we all failed. We were all bad.”
Ozil however says Arsenal will take it as a learning experience.
“It was a performance we can’t just brush aside. No, we have to learn our lessons from it,” said the 28-year-old.
“We all have to ask searching questions of ourselves and accept responsibility for the defeat. All the players, all the trainers, even the management.
“I have thought long and hard about the match. I’ve visualised what went wrong. But I can’t allow this game to inhibit me in the future and destroy my confidence, which is the most important thing a footballer can have on the field. This defeat mustn’t get the better of any of us.”
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