Ozil: Humiliating loss to Bayern among 'darkest' moments of my career

Arsenal's mercurial midfielder Mesut Ozil has, like his club, endured a tumultuous campaign, but one ordeal stands out above the others for the German playmaker.

In his book "Gunning for Greatness," currently being serialised by the Mail on Sunday, the 28-year-old said the Gunners' initial 5-1 Champions League loss at the hands of Bayern Munich earlier this season was one of the low points of his career.

Arsenal was battered 10-2 on aggregate by the Bundesliga behemoth in the Round of 16, marking the seventh consecutive campaign the north London side has been bounced from Europe's marquee club competition at the first knockout hurdle.

And Ozil, who, along with Alexis Sanchez, has been the centre of much speculation over his future given that his contract is due to expire at the end of next season, highlighted the first leg of that encounter in Germany as a moment he will remember for all the wrong reasons.

"The devastating loss at Bayern Munich this season is undoubtedly one of the darkest hours of my footballing career," Ozil said. "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 game plan. He was very clear about his ideas - and they were good ones.

"Our intention was to go all out for Bayern’s central defender Mats Hummels; to prevent him from opening up the game which he does so brilliantly. We wanted to force him to play the ball to Javi Martinez, who’s also a fine central defender but who isn’t great at opening up the game. In this way we hoped we'd be able to stop Bayern from building up the play at an early stage and disrupt their rhythm."

Obviously, that plan didn't come to fruition. And yet, Ozil did note the opportunity for his side to learn from the debacle.

"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."