Ten years ago Arsenal were thrashed by the Bavarian giants – now Mikel Arteta’s men are rated the best side in Europe
November 2015. The Allianz Arena, Munich. A decade ago, yet a lifetime away for Arsenal in the Champions League.
That night Arsène Wenger’s team were so shredded in a 5-1 defeat by Bayern Munich that my Guardian colleague David Hytner likened them to “the chicken feed from the lower reaches of the Bundesliga that Bayern routinely gobble up”. It was Arsenal’s joint‑worst result in Europe. And to rub it in, Bayern repeated the trick the following season. Twice: 5-1 at home, then 5-1 at the Emirates Stadium.
Back then English football wasn’t just off the pace in the Champions League but in danger of being lapped. Across the 2015-16 and 2016-17 seasons, only two Premier League teams – Manchester City and Leicester – made it past the last 16. Remember the bloodletting and postmortems? The grasping for reasons why, for all their riches, English teams were struggling in Europe? The endless calls for a winter break?
Now look. Arsenal are now the best team in Europe, at least according to Club Elo ratings, based on every team’s results and the strength of their opponents. Bayern, who travel to the Emirates Stadium on Wednesday, are third. And, most astonishingly, 12 Premier League sides are in the top 20.
