Patrick Barclay: Jettisoning Arsenal's Mesut Ozil is one call… but there’s a bigger decision for Arsene Wenger to make

On the face of it, a humbling midweek for our much-vaunted Premier League. Two home matches, two defeats — and one of those for the champions. Can this really be the product that we, the television audience, are about to start paying £10million a match for? And that the whole world is supposed to be clamouring to see?

There is, of course, time for a restoration of prestige. There are Europa League matches tonight — and Manchester City and Arsenal have Champions League second legs to come, in Barcelona and Monaco, respectively in which miracles could happen. And, although the European season began with Liverpool being knocked out of the top competition at the group stage, we should not rule out the possibility that Chelsea will end it gloriously; Jose Mourinho’s team at least have a better than even chance of reaching the quarter-finals after their first-leg draw in Paris.

But the Mancunian misery was uncomfortably echoed at the Emirates last night as Monaco, who are only a little more likely to win Ligue 1 than Arsenal are to sweep past Chelsea and claim the Premier title, looked a cut above Arsene Wenger’s side, physically and mentally, if not — and this was why such shame lay at the feet of Mesut Ozil and others — technically.

We all make mistakes — and my most recent was to hint, before the match, that Wenger would have his men up for it — but there is no excuse at this level for laziness or poor preparation and Arsenal stand accused of both.

They have been like this before, especially in tough away matches domestically. Yet there was hope that the resolve and tactical astuteness shown at Manchester City signalled a change. It evaporated last night. Barring an extraordinary transformation in the Stade Louis II, Wenger will have some big decisions to make at the season’s end. One could be to jettison Ozil. But the manager’s key call is on himself.