Arsenal were not robbed but rules are too harsh

When Nani was harshly sent off in the Champions League against Real Madrid last season one furious Manchester United fan dialled 999 to report the crime; and although Arsenal supporters have no justification in complaining with the same voracity, there remains a nagging feeling that Wojciech Szczesny’s sending off against Bayern here — and Fifa’s controversial guidelines for referees — robbed us all in some way or another.

Certainly his dismissal after only 37 minutes turned an entertaining, end to end game into a one-sided second-half in which Arsenal defended admirably for long periods but which inevitably lacked the excitement or the competitiveness that had looked so inevitable earlier in the night.

When you consider it came only 24 hours after Manchester City’s chances of beating Barcelona were similarly ended when Martin Demichelis was sent off having given away a penalty at the Etihad, then this is a legitimate time to begin a new debate.