Arsenal, Manchester United, and Tottenham Hotspur have all suffered big defeats at the hands of Europe’s heavyweights. See if you can guess which matches will be on our list.
AC Milan 4-0 Arsenal, 2012
Yes we kick-off in the present day, with the hammering in Milan which inspired this article. The loss will go down as one of Arsenal’s worst ever European results. Last season in the Nou Camp they suffered the embarrassment of not having a shot on goal, but still acquitted themselves well thanks to a Busquets own goal, and a valiant defensive effort. The same defence was a shambles in midweek, with Zlatan and Robinho putting them to the sword. It could be a watershed moment which convinces Wenger to get rid of certain players, but sadly for Arsenal fans, we have been here already this season.
Real Madrid 4-0 Tottenham, 2011
Tottenham fans reveling in Arsenal’s current misery would do well to remember the same feeling they experienced just under a year ago. Jose Mourinho’s Tottenham flattened a Spurs’ side which had Peter Crouch sent off early, and Aaron Lennon pull out in the warm-up after ‘feeling unwell.’ The scorer of two Real Madrid goals that night? Emmanuel Adebayor. The man currently on loan at Tottenham showed why they were the team he enjoyed scoring against, with Angel Di Maria and Cristiano Ronaldo completing the drubbing.
Barcelona 4-1 Arsenal, 2010
After a 2-2 draw at the Emirates, Arsenal fans were in dreamland when Nicklas Bendtner scored an early goal at the Nou Camp. Unfortunately for the team, this woke up Lionel Messi, who put on one of the all-time great individual performances. He scored a phenomenal four goals, almost unheard of in a game of this stature, to put the tie to bed, and write his name in history. After this game Arsene Wenger described Messi as being like a ‘Playstation footballer’, who his side could do nothing about.
AC Milan 3-0 Manchester United, 2007
Again Arsenal fans should take solace in the fact that they are not the only English club to experience a thrashing at the hands of Milan in recent seasons. 3-0 may not sound the worst result, but with Milan already having two goals from the first leg of this tie, United were never in it. They never once threatened the Milan goal, as the Italian side put on a clinic, inspired by Kaka, with Gennaro Gattuso having one of his best European nights in a Milan shirt, not allowing Paul Scholes a look-in. 12 months later, United went onto win the Champions League, laying to rest the fateful memory of this night.
Arsenal 2-4 Barcelona, 1999
This was one of those matches which had everything, as Arsenal were taken apart by a Rivaldo inspired Barcelona side. Arsenal had decided to play their Champions League games at Wembley, to add to the occasion, but the move backfired as it only spurred on the opposition. Barcelona went 2-0 up through Rivaldo and Luis Enrique, who both netted within the first quarter of an hour. Dennis Bergkamp pulled one back before half-time, but Figo and Cocu made in 4-1 in the second half, before Marc Overmars scored a terrific consolation goal for the Gunners. A late substitution for Barcelona that night? Pep Guardiola.
Barcelona 4-0 Man United, 1994
This was the match which really showed up the Manchester United side at the time as being far short of the European force they aspired to be, Double winners at home, they were torn apart by in the Nou Camp by the tandem of Romario and Hristo Stoichkov. A rule restricting the clubs to limited numbers of foreigners meant Peter Schmeichel and Eric Cantona watched from the stands, with Gary Walsh in goal. Steve Bruce later described the game as a ‘nightmare’ as United went back to the drawing board.
image: © Jan Solo
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