Bayern Munich 5-1 Arsenal: Arsene Wenger criticises defensive performance after Champions League loss

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger tore into his defenders following his team's 5-1 capitulation at the hands of Bayern Munich in the Champions League on Wednesday night (4 November). The manager absolutely dismissed the Gunners' defensive approach in the game, and admitted that a performance like that will take the team 'nowhere'.

The French manager credited Bayern for their quality on the day, which saw them go into the interval with a 3-0 lead with goals from Robert Lewandowski, Thomas Muller and David Alaba. Mesut Ozil did get the ball in the back of the net, after their first goal, but it was rightly ruled out after the German midfielder looked to have used his arm.

Arsenal's hopes of qualifying to the knockout phase of the elite European competition now hangs by a thread, after Olympiacos beat Dinamo Zagreb to go level on points with the Bavarian giants. The north London club now has to win both their games, beat Olympiacos by a two-goal margin on their final matchday, and hope Bayern beat the Greek side as well. Wenger understands that it is a long shot for the Gunners to qualify, but admits that there is still a real chance to progress, if they perform to their optimum level.

"You have to give credit to Bayern first for their quality and on top of that we made things quite easy for them. It was a bad defensive performance and we were extremely poor defensively. We were not at the races. The funny thing is that when we went forward we created good chances. We had a chance to score early but with a defensive performance like that, you go nowhere," Wenger said, as quoted on Arsenal's official site.

"My memory of 19 years is not too accurate if I'm supposed to tell you our worst defensive performance. It's certainly not going to remain in my memory for anything positive. There is still a chance to qualify. Olympiacos have to lose here, we have to beat Zagreb and then we will see when we play Olympiacos away. It's a small chance but it is a real one. We have to realise with that kind of performance that we had today that our chances are minimal," the Frenchman added.