Champions League reaction- Arsenal 1-3 Bayern Munich, and Man Utd 1-2 Real Madrid (2-3 agg.)

Despite a valiant effort in the second half, Arsenal proved how far behind they are the elite of European football. They are streets behind, and this result just proved it.
Jack Wilshere wailed at the full time whistle as Arsenal's hopes all but ended at the Emirates. Arsenal were ripped apart in the first half by a fantastic display of urgency and forward thinking by the Bayern front 6.  In particular, Javi Martinez proved why Bayern spent north of £30m on him, Muller ran at the flimsy Arsenal back four, Schweinsteiger, as usual, personified calmness in the middle of the park, and the resourceful Kroos scored a cracking goal.
There were no passengers for Bayern, unlike Theo Walcott, one of the most effective wingers in the Premier League this year, stationed up front despite Van Buyten and Dante towering over him. Lukas Podolski also failed to turn up against his old side.
Nevertheless, Wilshere’s display featured all of the traits that we have come to enjoy: the deceptive acceleration, the vision and the urgency in possession. Wilshere was supported by Arteta and Aaron Ramsey, decent players but, unlike him, not of Champions League calibre. Tomas Rosicky showed when he came on that he can still take control of a game and direct play with pace and incisive passing, and he's a much better like-for-like replacement for Wilshere than Diaby or Ramsey can ever be.
Wenger was perhaps resigned to going out when he spoke to the media later on.
“Look, we’ll have two battles. But maybe the easier battle will be to be back into the Champions League. We have to give everything to try to change things in the second leg. We have to try to make the impossible possible. Let’s not hide the truth. It will be extremely difficult against a team of that quality. They didn’t play two finals in the last three years without that quality. We have to give our best and hope we have built our confidence up a bit more, because that belief will be needed.” Arsene Wenger.
Do Arsenal have any hope of qualifying now? I don't think so, but i would hope they at least have a go and pick an offensive side. What is the point of qualifying for the knockout stages 14 years in a row or whatever when Arsenal haven't been to the semi's since 2009, and got walloped by Man United?

Speaking of whom...
United gave as good as they got in a valiant effort against the most expensively assembled team in the world. It was an enthralling clash that, as Mourinho predicted, the world stopped to watch. The match will unfortunately be remembered for a nonsensical refereeing decision, which swung the pendulum in Real's favour.
United found themselves down to 10 men after an hour when Nani was sent off following a bizarre decision from Turkish referee Cuneyt Cakir, who penalised the winger for a high foot when the Portuguese international was legitimately challenging for the ball.
It was blatantly obvious that Nani was rising to pull the ball out of the sky, Yes, there was contact but it's a contact sport! Nani's control would have been spot on had Arbeloa not jumped in, and gone down like he'd been shot.
Nani's challenge was unintentional--he never saw Arbeloa. I can't believe the amount of people that are defending the ref's decision in tonight's game. In order to refute such nonsense ask yourself this question: what if the ref had just booked him? If he had made the correct decision, you can bet that none of the Real players would have been up in arms, crying about the injustice of it all and how it was a clear red; they'd have just got on with the game. Everyone looked surprised when the red came out. 
Until the red card United were the better team, and had Nani stayed on, I'm not so sure Madrid would have come away with a win. Sir Alex got the tactics spot on, and until the woeful red card, United had the better chances, willingly conceding possession. His leaving out of Wayne Rooney was 100% correct, as United had the perfect tactical set up before the ref's mental moment.
Danny Welbeck really did step up to the plate. He tracked Xabi Alonso's every move, following Mario Gotze's example and completely nullifying the former Liverpool playmaker. This stifled Madrid somewhat and it was no wonder they failed to create many chances in the first 50-odd minutes.
Welbeck, Cleverley and Rafael all looked at home at this level. Tactically, technically and mentally they all applied themselves well, and looked equal to the occasion and their opponents.
Indeed, it was the player with the biggest reputation for United- Robin Van Persie- who was probably their biggest flop over the two legs. Remember the chance he hit wide in the dying minuites of the game in Madrid, the awful mishit in the same game, or his two missed chances in this match. He was brought in to make a difference in Europe, not the League (United got 89 points last year, their league form was fine) and the Dutchman failed.
Ryan Giggs was absolutely phenomenal. It was remarkable that he was the most energetic and willing player on the pitch considering that Ronaldo, Ozil, Di Maria, Higuain, Rooney and Kaka were all playing. He chased every cause down and barely put a foot wrong. Which makes it more of a travesty that he's had another opportunity at the Champions League snatched away from him.
On one level, you could make a legitamate argument that Ronaldo, and Ronaldo alone, was the difference in this tie. Had he played for United, I would have expected the results to have been reversed- he wasn't special in either game, but scored two vital goals.
Otherwise, both teams looked relatively well matched. De Gea and Lopez both excelled away from home, both sets of strikers failed to make an impact,  and even with ten men Utd had a number of genuine chances- none more gilt edged than Vidic's header from six yards that Diego Lopez somehow got to. Real have found a real defender in Varane though.
Rooney's display when he eventually got introduced to the game was average- culminating in blasting over a chance from inside the area that he really should have at least tested the goalkeeper with. I have to admit I was more than a little shocked by Fergie's team selection, but it was, as ever, fully justified by the great performances from Giggs and Welbeck. 
As soon as Nani was dismissed, the tactics were forcibly shaken up and the shackles came off Alonso. Modric's arrival exploited the advantage and Madrid dominated for a lengthy spell- but to be fair, United didn't have a defensive player on the bench to bring on to stem the flow.
The Old Trafford crowd was magnificent. It tends to be quite flat there, apart from the Stretford End, but that was tremendous throughout the game and all over the ground.
Rooney doesn't get picked for a big game...everyone goes batsh*t about it....I don't understand what all the hysteria is about. Rooney was awful in the first leg so he( quite rightly) was dropped for the second leg. Am I missing something here?
Wayne Rooney’s omission from the starting line-up was just a judgement call which was more than justified by Danny Welbeck’s performance on the night.
Overall, Sir Alex's dream of a third European Cup remains out of his reach for now. The good news for the Old Trafford faithful is they more than matched the team who remain probably the second best club team in the world, and also still have a Double in their sights. Mourinho's job lies on this trophy, but on this evidence, it'll take some team to beat Bayern.

Thanks for reading, Adam.