In a season filled with disappointing results, the humiliating 10-2 defeat to Bayern Munich in the Champions League is arguably Arsenal’s worst.
Few expected the Gunners to defeat Bayern over two legs, but to lose 5-1 both home and away was completely embarrassing and provided further evidence of Arsenal’s decline under Arsene Wenger.
It’s now seven straight seasons that the north London side have reached the last-16 of the Champions League and gone no further. And they might not even get the chance to break that streak next season - the Gunners are currently seventh in the Premier League table, 10 points behind fourth-placed Manchester City.
Failure to qualify for Europe’s elite competition could have serious consequences. Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez are both locked in contract disputes and neither will be satisfied with the thought of playing in the Europa League next season.
While there are strong reports linking Sanchez with a move away from the Emirates Stadium, to a Premier League rival or to Paris Saint-Germain, not as much has been made about Ozil’s future.
But rest assured, the 28-year-old playmaker is fully aware that his chances of winning Europe’s biggest competition lie away from Arsenal.
Ozil: 5-1 loss at Bayern was humiliating
In his book ‘Gunning for Glory’, Ozil has gone into detail about the effects of that 10-2 defeat to Bayern. He says the 5-1 defeat in Germany in the first leg ranks in the top five “most humiliating” defeats of his career.
"The devastating loss at Bayern Munich this season is undoubtedly one of the darkest hours of my footballing career," Ozil says, via Goal.
"It's in the top five of the most humiliating defeats I've suffered.
Ozil explains Arsenal's game plan
The German then discussed Arsenal’s tactics, claiming the plan was to close Bayern centre-back Mats Hummels down to prevent him from initiating attacks from defence.
"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."
Arsenal face Middlesbrough this evening
Indeed. And the Gunners have continued being bad.
They’ve collected just seven points from eight league matches and face a Middlesbrough side fighting for their lives this evening.