Bayern were determined to finish Arsenal off, reveals Robben

Bayern Munich went in for the kill after seeing Arsenal’s heads go down in the Champions League, according to Arjen Robben.

The Gunners came from behind at the Allianz Arena to go into the break level at 1-1 in the first leg of the round-of-16 tie, but ended the match on the wrong end of a humiliating 5-1 defeat, their second in successive seasons at the home of the Bundesliga title-holders.

Robben, who opened the scoring with a trademark goal in the 11th minute, felt Arsenal’s expansive style played straight into Bayern’s hands.   

“It was a little bit like [exhibition] play from our side,” he told Dutch broadcaster Veronica TV.

“Our football wasn’t that great. It was a different game since they [Arsenal] are a team that want to play football. They gave much space away. We had some great attacking play.

“I can politically correctly say that there’s still 90 minutes to play for. But normally this is it. We said to each other ‘we need to finish it now’. We saw their heads were hanging. It’s not over, but we can’t let it slide now.”

Wow. How do you even begin to describe that second half?#UCL #FCBARS 5-1 pic.twitter.com/76oLrmymh5

— FC Bayern English (@FCBayernEN) February 15, 2017

Former Chelsea and Real Madrid veteran Robben offered a modest response when asked about his brilliant strike, which saw him cut in from the right flank in typical fashion, beating Francis Coquelin for strength and pace before curling an inch-perfect left-footed strike beyond the reach of David Ospina. 

“It wasn’t a bad goal,” he said.

“As long as I function well, I can keep trying. I just became 33 years old.”

Speaking to ZDF, Bayern captain Philipp Lahm added: “Prior to the [Arsenal] penalty we were good, after that until the break not really good – and after the break we were sensational. 

“We played with all our quality in possession and scored at the right time. [A] 5-1 [lead] should be enough for the second leg.”