Arsenal midfielder Mesut Ozil has described this year's 10-2 aggregate humbling by Bayern Munich as "one of the darkest hours of my footballing career".
For the seventh consecutive season, the Gunners were knocked out of the Champions League at the last-16 stage, as they were beaten 5-1 home and away by Carlo Ancelotti's side.
"The devastating loss at Bayern Munich this season is undoubtedly one of the darkest hours of my footballing career," Ozil writes in his new book Gunning for Glory. "It's in the top five of the most humiliating defeats I've suffered.
"We were positively prepared for the game. Arsene Wenger had revealed to us his gameplan. He was very clear about his ideas - and they were good ones. 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!
"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."
Ozil's contract at the Emirates Stadium expires in the summer of 2018, with negotiations over a new deal said to have stalled in recent months.
Giuseppe Labellarte
