5 Lessons From Man City And Arsenal's Champions League Losses

2. Arjen Robben €“ Unplayable And Changed?

Most people will agree that Arjen Robben is probably playing the best football of his career at the moment. When Toni Kroos or Thiago received the ball last night it was clear that their first instinct was to find Robben. Admittedly he was up against a dishevelled Mesut Ozil (sorry Mesut!) and questionable Nacho Monreal but nobody could have handled him last night. The statistics show that Robben had more shots and completed more successful dribbles (7 and 3 respectively) than anyone on the pitch. Of course he was also involved in the games major turning point, making a trademark run and bringing the ball down expertly to win the penalty which saw Szczesny sent off. Robben strikes fears into defenders when he bears down on them, they do not know whether to stay tight to him or stand off and show him on the outside. What he does with the ball is no surprise, he squares up the full back and with quick feet cuts inside and shoots. He sets the ball wide of the keepers right-hand-post and more often than no the net bulges. At Chelsea and Real Madrid there was a feeling that his obvious talent was overshadowed by greed, poor decision making and a reluctance or inability to work as a team. He may well still be a touch greedy but probably with good cause these days. However it's clear Robben has learnt that he must make better decisions and crucially that he must put in a shift and contribute to the defensive shape of the team. His winner in the Champions League final last year was probably the crowning moment of his career, especially after what had happened the year before. But on current evidence he may well surpass the highs of last season.