The Champions League week is seldom short on talking points. Arsenal’s fine performance against Napoli at the Emirates to City’s meek surrender to Bayern Munich, the second round of Europe’s — by extension the world’s — most important club competition offered plenty of riveting matches. Here is a list of what we learned from this week of action. 1. The arrival of Mesut Ozil has galvanised Arsenal. The creative midfielder’s divine left-foot did the damage in a 2-0 win against Napoli on Tuesday. Ozil swept the ball home with a sweet strike on the half volley to give the Gunners the lead before setting up Olivier Giroud on a platter. It’s not surprising that the German’s name is on the lips of every Arsenal fan. 2. Cristiano Ronaldo is a goal machine. The Real Madrid superstar is a prototype of a modern footballer with a gargantuan appetite for scoring goals. Take him out of the Real line-up, his contribution to the Spanish giants will become as clear as daylight. Ronaldo was at it again. He scored a brace in Real’s 4-0 romp against FC Copenhagen on Wednesday. 3. Bayern Munich mean business. The defending champions are in no mood to relinquish their title. The arrival of Pep Guardiola has freshened up the minds of the Bayern players. In this ultra competitive era, retaining the Champions League title is not easy but Bayern appear to have it in them to do the job. Don’t be surprised if Munich is the place for wild dancing on the final day of the Champions League this season. 4. United have a long way to go to win the Champions League. Manager David Moyes has already admitted shortcomings in his squad in comparison to Barcelona and Bayern. A 1-1 draw with Shakhtar Donetsk on Wednesday has done little to lift the confidence of United fans. 5. Italian teams aren’t yet ready to claim the big-eared trophy. None of them were impressive in the second round.
