LONDON: When Arsenal paid a club record 42 million pounds for Mesut Ozil last August it was with nights like Tuesday in Munich in mind.
Trailing 2-0 from the first leg of the Champions League last 16 tie against holders Bayern, it was the perfect stage for Germany playmaker Ozil to deliver a grandstand performance.
What transpired, however, was a brief cameo as Ozil vanished at halftime with a hamstring niggle after being virtually invisible for the opening 45 minutes in the Allianz.
Arsenal eventually bowed out after a battling 1-1 draw – Lukas Podolski equalising with a rocket shot after Bastian Schweinsteiger had put Bayern 3-0 up on aggregate – and there season is in danger of fizzling out.
After setting the pace in the Premier League Arsenal are now seven points behind leaders Chelsea with a game in hand after registering only one league win in their last four. (Reuters)
