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.

Euro 2012 preview

Many agree that the European championships are of a better quality than the World Cup, which is why the whole of Europe is once again looking upon these championships as yet another slap in the face for FIFA's showpiece event. The last world cup was full of dreadful defensive football, horrible refereeing and crap teams like Honduras. Thankfully, the Euro's are seldom like that- probably the weakest team in the competition are Poland, and as co hosts, will expect to go through. I'm looking forward to great football from some of the best players in the world, from Xavi to Pirlo, Ronaldo to Ribery, and many more- especially my favourite player, Wesley Sneijder of the Netherlands.

England's chances look slim at best. Certainly, the loss of experienced pair Gareth Barry and Frank Lampard has been a big blow. Over 140 caps worth of international know-how gone, and now the midfield will rely heavily on the now injury prone Steven Gerrard and Scott Parker, who seems to spend most of the game on the floor. The fact that there is no obvious back up is a major concern for Roy Hodgson- James Milner would presumably be his first choice back up, but hes much more comfortable out wide. I would also prefer defender Phil Jones in the middle before the only other natural central midfielder, Jordan Henderson, would get game time. The midfield worries lead me to limit England's hopes to Quarter Finals. it will be tough just to get out of the group, and without the country's most gifted footballer, the wonderful Wayne Rooney, for the first two games, getting goals is a worry. Particularly because as I write, the main story on many sport websites is that a born goalscorer in Jermain Defoe is flying back to England after the tragic death of his father. Of course, there is no way you would expect Defoe to be fit and firing after such a tragedy. This only mounts up Hodgson's problems. Add to this the John Terry situation, and you get a very bleak outlook for the tournament. In my opinion, England only have two world class players- Ashley Cole and Rooney, and with one of them suspended... let's just say I would be delighted with qualifying from the group.

As for the rest, I don't rate Poland, who have an awful defence, and rely heavily on Dortmund's Robert Lewandowski for goal threat. For all their home support, i see them struggling. They are 62nd in the latest Fifa rankings which is the lowest ranked side at Euro 2012. Similarly, unless Ninis or Fetfatzidis get a start, they will not create much- i mean, any team with Samaras as their taker of chances needs help. I'm going for the Czechs and Russians to go through in Group A, especially if Tomas Rosicky brings his club form with him.

Group B, obviously, is the big one. The Germans are many people's favourites and possess formidable young talents like the resourceful Gotze and the wonderful Toni Kroos, so effective against Real Madrid in both legs of the Champions League Semi final. Plus, the goals of Klose, Podolski and Gomez make them very hard to look past. However, there are concerns over the huge Bayern Munich contingent reacting to their loss on three fronts this season, and also over the lack of pace in defence, especially if Mertesacker starts. Players like Cristiano Ronaldo, Nani, and Robben wont need a second invitation to take on a flat footed back four. However the huge range of talent in their squad, such as Neuer, Lahm, Ozil, and Muller make them one of the favourites.

However, the team I'm backing is the Oranje, Holland.