AC Milan looked like a fresh hungry Premier League team while Arsenal looked like a slow, tired and laboured Italian side. Our great record against Italian sides in the past have often stemed from the speed of our football, the aggression in the challenges, the tempo that we set but for some reason this was non existent from the very start.

I’d imagine that euro soccer odds for Arsenal to make the next round of the Champions League will be gigantic following what was a shambolic 1st leg in Italy.

Arsene Wenger was furious at his players post match and he didn’t hide that when being interviewed.

AC Milan looked like a fresh hungry Premier League team while Arsenal looked like a slow, tired and laboured Italian side. Our great record against Italian sides in the past have often stemed from the speed of our football, the aggression in the challenges, the tempo that we set but for some reason this was non existent from the very start.

That will remain my greatest disappointment on that night. We had fighters on that pitch, fighters like Sagna, Vermaelen and Arteta who back tracked into their shells and once that happened then we were never going to win the game, especially given the fact that we lacked any creative spark in the final third.

The cynic in me will say that Milan purposefully damaged the wide areas, the part of the pitch where AC Milan would have expected our biggest threat, especially considering the fact that Milan are a very narrow team who only have width from their full backs but the defeat goes beyond our offensive game, it has everything to do with the will to win.

What happened to this new Arsenal team that was 3-0 up at home to West Brom but still fought like crazy to win the ball back? Where was the pride in the shirt? That for me is what I have trouble dealing with today.

We were playing in the first leg against AC Milan in the San Siro, a welcomed break from the weekly grind that is the Premier League. A chance to showcase their talents, a chance to prove that we are still a very good side but for some reason the team froze, they looked a complete mess from back to front. Disjointed, unorganised, lacking conviction and desire and I have to agree with the manager, it is our worst night in terms of performance in the Champions League.

At the same time plenty of credit has to be handed over to AC Milan for the way they approached the game. Tactically, technically and committedly they were superb. I thought Kevin-Prince Boateng was class and the way he and Robinho combined and moved around Zlatan Ibrahimovic was just wonderful to watch, or at least would be if the opponent was not Arsenal.

Boateng’s opener was top quality, our defence did not pick up his movement and a simple chip allowed Boateng the time to chest the ball and rifle it over Szczesny. What Sagna was doing for the Milan second goal is anybody’s guess.

Ibrahimovic may well have been offside but why on earth did Sagna not chase back behind the ball. Bacary Sagna is very fast, Zlatan is not. Sagna almost gave up the chase when five yards away, his left footed cross to the head of Robinho was inch perfect and we were punished once more. That goal shouldn’t have happened.

Sagna had a bad game overall which is almost unheard of. But the biggest surprise was watching Thomas Vermaelen. It was his first game in the center for a long while and maybe that had a big part to play but had that performance come from Squillaci then the castigation would still be ringing around the web today.

Robinho and a dubious Zlatan penalty all but sealed the tie in the second half, even the introduction of Thierry Henry for the second 45 minutes could not havd a big enough impact on the game. An away goal may have given us more of a glimmer of hope but it just didn’t happen.

The only spark came from Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain late in the second half, one of the few who combined technique with purpose during his brief spell on the pitch. Luckily Laurent Koscielny’s injury isn’t too serious but he will still probably miss out over the weekend.

The prestige of the FA Cup has suddenly increased dramatically, what previously was a fixture that would feel the weight of rotation is now a must win game, the trouble is that it could come too soon for total mental and physical recovery and I really wouldn’t be surprised to see us fail to win that game.

What happened in Milan was a shambles but let us get one thing straight, we are much better than that. Our reliable players on the night were not reliable and that isn’t the norm. Sagna, Vermaelen and Arteta will not play as badly as that again this season.

I just hope that AC Milan in the San Siro 2012 will not be Birmingham City at Wembley 2011. The difference this time round is that we do not have a long list of players itching for the exit door. There is plenty more resilience around the squad so my fingers are crossed that we can bounce back sooner rather than later.

Men of the match: The Arsenal Away Fans