Thrashing by Bayern Munich can be a good thing for Arsenal - but we must learn from it says Mesut Ozil

The Gunners were thrashed 5-1 home and away to exit 10-2 on aggregate last month, crashing out at the last-16 stage for the seventh year running

Mesut Ozil insists Arsenal won't be permanently scarred from their defeat to Bayern Munich (Getty)

Mesut Ozil insists Arsenal can learn from their Champions League humiliation at the hands of Bayern Munich and come back stronger.

The Gunners were thrashed 5-1 home and away to exit 10-2 on aggregate last month, crashing out at the last-16 stage for the seventh year running.

That result, along with a string of underwhelming domestic displays which have left them seventh in the Premier League, has seen pressure mount on Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger.

The Frenchman's contract expires in the summer and it is still unclear whether he will sign a new deal at the Emirates, while Germany midfielder Ozil and forward Alexis Sanchez have just over a year remaining on their existing deals and have been linked with moves away.

However, while admitting that Arsenal's humbling at the hands of the German champions was a career low point, Ozil also sees it as a chance for the Gunners to improve.

"The devastating loss at Bayern Munich this season is undoubtedly one of the darkest hours of my footballing career," Ozil says in his book 'Gunning for Glory', which is being serialised in the Mail on Sunday. "It's in the top five of the most humiliating defeats I've suffered.

He added: "The fact is, we all failed. We were all bad! We played a game that held a mirror up to our faces.

"It was a performance we can't just brush aside. No, we have to learn our lessons from it. We all have to ask searching questions of ourselves and accept responsibility for the defeat. All the players, all the trainers, even the management. Because this fiasco also represents a great opportunity!


 Arsenal crashed out to Bayern in spectacular fashion 
 (Getty)

"In my footballing life I've often fallen flat on my face and been knocked to the ground. But I've always got up again and won victories and titles following the defeat ... this defeat by Bayern will produce something good at the end, too."

PA