AC Milan 4-0 Arsenal

ROBINHO: Two goals for Milan

Former Manchester City man, Robinho, struck twice to to put an end to Arsenal’s Champions League dreams as AC Milan ended Arsenal's unbeaten run against Italian sides to an embarrassing end.

Former Tottenham man Kevin-Prince Boateng’s stunning strike in the 15^th minute put the Rossonieri ahead before Robinho doubled and then trebled their lead.

Ibrahimovic scored a penalty in the 79^th minute to kill off the game beyond doubt and in doing so ensured that he has scored in every Champions League game he’s played in this season. Ibrahimovic made a nuisance of himself from the kick-off and looked every bit the player he says he is, creating and scoring goals tonight.

Arsenal had a good chunk of the possession in the opening ten minutes but their good spell ended there. Boateng’s strike of the night from the right-hand side rattled the underside of the bar and then the bottom of the net, leaving Szczesny helpless and Arsenal were 1-0 down before they knew it.

The pitch didn’t do either team any favours but it could be suggested that the wide-flanks, where the worst of it was, would affect Arsenal’s play more than the home side.

Arsenal’s defence were at their poorest since the start of the season and Milan’s front three of Ibrahimovic, Boateng and Robinho ran them ragged.

If things couldn’t get worse for the Gunners’ back line, Laurent Koscielny, who was their best defender by far and away with Vermaelen having a torrid time, had to be replaced with Djourou just before the break.

AC Milan were troubled by their own injury problems and manager, Allegri found himself having to bring on Urby Emanuelson for the injured Clarence Seedorf just after the 10 minute mark.

Robinho made it 2-0 before half time heading home a perfectly chipped ball from Ibrahimovic from five yards out.

Half time saw changes made from Arsenal and a final Champions League appearance for Thierry Henry who replaced the lacklustre Theo Walcott.

But the change didn’t rectify the problems and Robinho doubled his tally for the night after an unfortunate Vermaelen slip on the edge of the box allowed him the space to pick his spot and smash his effort towards goal.

Arsenal very nearly got one back just after the 60^th minute when Henry and Van Persie teamed up to create a rare Arsenal chance which forced a save from ‘keeper Marco Amelia.

The French maestro flicked the ball up with his heel for the prolific Van Persie to strike it on the volley but Amelia did well to tip the shot round the post.

Szczesny’s first save came in the third minute of stoppage time when he was forced to stop a later strike from Pato. Four Milan shots hit the back of the net and the other ten were off-target.

Arsenal have an important couple of weeks ahead with the FA Cup game then Tottenham and Liverpool in the league. If they continue to perform the way they did tonight then their season will be over sooner rather than later.

Macclesfield Town 1-2 Torquay United

Macclesfield were served up a defeat sandwiched in between their FA Cup ties with Bolton and now have more injuries to contest with after George Donnelly limped off with a groin strain.

The manager, Gary Simpson, was left disappointed with his team’s ability to cope with set pieces, from which they shipped two goals.

Donnelly

“The most disappointing thing is that we have conceded again from two corners. I wanted my big players and my big defenders to come and deal with stuff and at the minute we’re not doing it,” he said.

Torquay broke the deadlock from a set piece through Ian Morris who headed home a looping header for The Gulls in the 52^nd minute to score his first goal for the club.

Macclesfield’s defence were caught out again from a set piece giving Mark Ellis the time to position himself correctly and fire an overhead kick into the back of the net less than 20 minutes later.

Simpson was sympathetic, he said: “I think sometimes it’s just how it goes and we struggled today. We have one or two struggling from injuries.

“I can’t fault the endeavour to try and get back into the game and we kept going and kept going,” said Simpson.

“We’ve got a few injuries, George had to go off because he’s got a groin strain and Sam [Wedgbury] is still struggling and we have had to cancel his operation,” he explained.

Super-sub Ian Morris

Macclesfield managed to claw one back through an arrowed header from Shaun Brisley after a cross from Elliot Hewitt on right hand side as The Silkmen pushed for a point from the game late on.

Torquay have now managed four league games unbeaten now and move up to 8^th place on 41pts, worthy of a play-off place.

Gulls’ Boss Martin Ling was pleased with his sides’ tough performance, he said: “It was pleasing to show that we have got a lot of credentials going forward and a lot of character.

“They’re strong, they get it forward quickly and we had to match that but you could just see that the gaps were starting to appear and we were always likely to pick them off.”

Ling was left with a potential selection problem in the wake of Ian Morris’ good form, he said: “I’m really pleased for Ian he puts it in day in and day out in training and he certainly does the job when he’s given the chance.”