Thursday 26 February 2015 09:23, UK
Jamie Redknapp branded Arsenal’s 3-1 defeat at home to Monaco as “probably Arsene Wenger’s most disappointing performance in Europe, ever”.
But what are the other contenders for that unwanted title? Here we look at three other lows for the Frenchman and his Arsenal side in European competition…
AC Milan 4-0 Arsenal (Feb 2012)
“It was a shocking result and a shocking performance,” Wenger said, after watching his side fall to their heaviest ever defeat in European competition at the San Siro in 2012.
AC Milan all but destroyed Arsenal’s hopes of reaching the quarter-finals with goals from Kevin-Prince Boateng, Robinho (two) and Zlatan Ibrahimovic in the first leg of their last-16 tie.
“We made mistake after mistake and were deservedly punished,” said Wenger, who refused to blame a poor playing surface. “It is a night we will never forget - our worst in Europe by far.
"There was not one moment in the entire 90 minutes when we were in the game. We were very poor in attack and in defence and we were never in the game. It would not be fair for me to blame the pitch, which was a disaster, because our performance was at the same level."
Arsenal 1-3 Manchester United (1-4 agg) (May 2009)
Wenger had promised a “magnificent” performance from his players ahead of their Champions League semi-final second leg against Manchester United at the Emirates, despite having a 1-0 deficit to overturn from the first leg.
However, within 11 minutes United had scored twice to all but end the tie as a contest. Ji-Sung Park and Cristiano Ronaldo – with a 40-yard free-kick – shocked the home fans before the Portuguese added a second. Robin van Persie’s late penalty, after Darren Fletcher’s sending off, was of little consolation.
"It is the most disappointing night of my career," said Wenger at the time. "I felt the fans were really up for a big night and to disappoint people who stand behind the team so much hurts."
Arsenal 1-1 PSV (1-2 agg) (March 2007)
Arsenal’s Champions League exit at the hands of PSV concluded 11 days to forget for Wenger. The club had lost the Carling Cup final to Chelsea, been knocked out of the FA Cup by Blackburn Rovers and now, with Arsenal 20 points behind Manchester United in the Premier League, all but guaranteed to end the campaign without a trophy.
Future Chelsea signing Alex scored at both ends to condemn Arsenal to an aggregate defeat and afterwards Wenger was left ruing missed chances.
“We're out of the FA Cup and that was a big disappointment, but it is minor compared to this. We lacked a bit of sharpness and of course we lacked a bit of quality in the final third. Alex won PSV the tie alone, which is only a bit of an exaggeration."
