Gunners bring out the devil in a lazy mime artist

They were unceremoniously spanked. And the man wielding the cane was football's most enigmatic, quicksilver galoot: Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
Ibrahimovic has tormented Arsenal in the past, more memorably scoring two against them for Barcelona in a 2-2 draw in March 2010.

But he never used them so cruelly as he did last night.

The Swede jogged out onto a variegated San Siro pitch with his ponytail tightly curled and his scratch-goatee neatly groomed. He appeared for all the world like an off-duty French mime artist. And rather like French mime, there was absolutely nothing amusing for Arsenal supporters about his subsequent performance.

From the very first whistle, Ibra set about confounding whichever defenders Arsenal lined up against him. Laurent Koscielny, Thomas Vermaelen and Johan Djourou all suffered together, as Ibrahimovic found space in front of them, around them and between them, popping passes long and short; using his deceptively deft feet to free up his team-mates.

He was unmistakeably the star of the night. Zlat set up Milan's second goal with a beautifully executed chipped cross to Robinho and capped the evening by winning a soft penalty, which he injected below Wojciech Szczesny's dive with surgical accuracy. It was, apparently, his third goal in 14 matches against English opposition. All of them have been scored against Arsenal.

Ibrahimovic has achieved a reputation for looking sloppy, callow and lazy in past Champions League games. It would appear that Arsenal bring out the devil in him.

At the end, Ibra took a short turn about the San Siro with his arm around Thierry Henry's shoulders. There were smiles on both of their faces. Both had played their roles in this doleful end to Arsenal's Champions League run. Ibra had done the damage; Henry had done his fruitless best to prevent it.

Henry's strange coda to his Arsenal career is now over and he returns to the New York Red Bulls. Arsenal could do with him sticking around, not least since their next four matches are away at Sunderland in the FA Cup, followed by games against Spurs, Liverpool, Milan again and Newcastle.

But even if there were some way to keep Henry - indeed, even if there were some way to keep Henry and bring Ibrahimovic to the Emirates for the rest of the season as well - Arsenal would still be in deep trouble.

Many of us have tried to defend them this season but last night every flaw was clear. Their defence is slightly built and hopelessly organised. Their midfield without Jack Wilshere lacks leadership, skill, drive and bite. Their attack is carried by Robin van Persie and actively marred by the critically stalled progress of Theo Walcott.

A total overhaul of the squad is now unarguably urgent. Arsene Wenger will probably disagree. In which case, players like Ibrahimovic will continue to lick their lips when they hear that the Gunners are paying them a visit.