Arsenal and Bayern Munich shared the spoils of a ding-dong Champions League encounter that left Mikel Arteta guffawing at the quality of the two sides.
Part chess match, part basketball, it was an absorbing contest at the Allianz Arena. There’s plenty to sink our teeth into, so let’s crack on.
Aside from the absent Christos Tzolis, William Saliba and Piero Hincapie, Arteta had close to a full squad to choose from. Fresh from their lively cameos at Nottingham Forest, Jurrien Timber and Noni Madueke came into the starting lineup, while Bruno Guimaraes retained his midfield place ahead of Myles Lewis-Skelly.
Bayern were somewhat depleted. We knew Jamal Musiala was injured and Michael Olise suspended, but Luis Diaz only being fit enough for the bench felt like an added bonus. Joshua Kimmich was also absent following the death of his father. Our sympathies to him.
As someone who doesn’t watch a lot of German football, I was struck by how few players I recognised in their lineup. That probably gave me, and perhaps a few others, a false sense of security. Our record in Bavaria should have put paid to that. A solitary 2-0 win in 2013 is the only thing to crow about, and even then we went out on away goals.
Arsenal started briskly, Raya twice sending long diagonal balls towards the right flank in the opening seven minutes. It was a tactic he would use throughout the evening, the aim being to gain territory, compete in the air and pounce on the loose ball.
An early foray into the Bayern box came to nothing, and Odegaard missed a chance to thread a pass behind the defence before Saka offered a glimpse of what he might bring to the occasion. He muscled Alphonso Davies off the ball and charged down the right, looking sharp and up for the challenge.
That made it all the more galling to see him go down clutching his thigh in obvious pain. He immediately signalled that he needed to come off, leaving Arteta to reshuffle his attack. More on the injury later. For now, Eze, whose afternoon at the City Ground had ended after an underwhelming 45 minutes, came on down the left, with Madueke switching to the right.
We continued to enjoy more of the ball, while Havertz’s early booking for a late challenge on Josip Stanisic underlined how keenly contested everything was. So did the sight of Ezri Konsa following Harry Kane almost to the Bayern penalty area. Arteta had predicted a man-to-man encounter, and neither side were going to let him down.
Gabriel made an important challenge to stop Davies getting a shot away before Arsenal fashioned their first real opening. Odegaard curled in a corner, Neuer flapped and Calafiori fired well over from the back post.
Bayern had left three players upfield and wasted no time exploiting the space. Kane grabbed a ball and launched a quarterback-style pass towards Davies, with Gnabry eventually testing Raya with a low shot. The whole thing happened in seconds, giving Arteta ample reason to remind his players that our corners are ideally supposed to threaten the opposition’s goal, not ours.
The team responded by taking the lead with a move that was beautiful in its simplicity. After Arsenal recycled possession in midfield, Odegaard shaped to send Havertz through, paused, then looked up again to spot Eze sprinting behind Konrad Laimer down the left.
The pass was perfectly weighted. Eze let it bounce a couple of times and, by the time he struck across Neuer with his left foot, he was almost level with the edge of the six-yard box. A lovely finish, followed by the familiar experience of starting a celebration only to be told to put it back in its box.
The flag had gone up, but replays showed Stanisic on the near side just playing him on. VAR confirmed the goal, a welcome moment for a player who had taken plenty of criticism at the weekend. It was also our fifth goal from a substitute this season. (0-1)
On the way the goal played out, Odegaard told TNT Sports:
“It was a good timing in the end, and a great finish. I’m really happy for him to get his goal.
“The way he performed as well was a top performance from him. He’s a top player, and I think everyone knows his qualities, and today you could really see that out there.”
Bruno had a half-chance to double the lead from a corner, and I took encouragement from Ismael Saibari resorting to a wayward effort from distance. It felt as though we had a decent handle on Bayern, which was obviously the cue for that momentary sense of calm to be nipped in the bud.
Momentum graph for FC Bayern München v Arsenal: which side was attacking, minute by minute, from dangerous attacks.
Momentum graph for FC Bayern München v Arsenal: which side was attacking, minute by minute, from dangerous attacks.
Konsa had marshalled Kane well, but a throw-in on Bayern’s right left him unsure whether to follow his compatriot into the centre circle. You could see him pointing towards the striker, aware of the danger, but nobody else picked him up.
Kane received the ball in acres of space and, crucially, had time to measure his pass. It was a beauty, finding Davies as he darted inside Timber and through on Raya. The Canadian finished first time. That was all it took. Europe’s best teams don’t need you to switch off for very long. (1-1)
Arsenal resumed their probing, Bayern remained dangerous on the break, and the half ended with a flurry of corners that neither side could turn into another goal.
There was no let-up after the interval. Eze won a corner, Rice sent it towards the back post, and Bruno’s downward header was somehow kept out by Neuer, who pushed the bouncing ball up onto the bar before it was cleared. Replays showed it was right on the line when the 40-year-old intervened. Some stop by the veteran.
At the other end, Raya produced a flying save to repel Upamecano’s header after the Frenchman had barraged through the middle of the pitch like it was a Champs-Élysées shopfront. Eze then wriggled into the box and forced Neuer into another stop before Davies had a shot blocked.
It was breathless stuff, although probably a little more stretched than Arteta would have liked. Bayern were beginning to build momentum when they were awarded a penalty by a referee who, to his credit, was impressive throughout.
There wasn’t much to argue about. A cutback found Kane 12 yards out and Timber, throwing himself across the shot, inadvertently blocked it with his hand.
Who had our old nemesis scoring a penalty on the bingo card? Yes, all of you. Kane took it well, to be fair, shuffling through his run-up to send Raya the wrong way before planting the ball in the top left-hand corner. Just his ninth successful spot-kick against us. FFS. (2-1)
I feared the worst at that point. For the next five minutes, Bayern swarmed all over us, forcing mistakes and penning us back around our own box. Laimer went close, although we did briefly threaten an equaliser when an Odegaard free-kick caused a scramble that ended with Gabriel appealing for an imaginary handball. Worth asking, I suppose.
Both managers made double changes with 20 minutes remaining, and those substitutions helped swing the contest back our way. Bayern brought on Luis Diaz and Lennart Karl for Saibari and Gnabry, but a shot from the Colombian, comfortably saved by Raya, was about as threatening as the hosts got from there.
Arteta replaced Havertz and Bruno with Viktor Gyokeres and Myles Lewis-Skelly, who both made their presence felt. We settled, began keeping the ball again and patiently searched for a way through. Eventually, another moment of attacking quality brought the equaliser.
Timber, Eze, MLS and Konsa were all involved as Arsenal worked possession from left to right. Rice laid the ball off to Madueke and surged into the box, where he collected a deft touch from Gyokeres before hammering low across Neuer.
It was a fine move with a finish to match. Rice’s first goal since March, too. When he strikes a ball like that, you do wonder whether we could arrange for him to be in the penalty area a little more often, even if I appreciate he’s quite busy everywhere else. (2-2)
Rice later reflected:
“When you play against Bayern, a team that go man-to-man over the whole pitch and follow you everywhere, it’s such a tough game for 95 minutes, and you have to apply certain principles and concepts, and you’re constantly thinking about where you can move into the space.”
Arteta sent on Mikel Merino in search of a winner in the closing five minutes, but the tempo finally dropped. Diaz picking up an injury and having to go off just 20 minutes after his introduction didn’t help the flow.
There was still time for Timber to unleash a rasping effort that Neuer tipped over. The resulting corner came to nothing, but after a contest like that, a draw felt fair.
Substitution impact for Arsenal: 10' Eberechi Eze for Bukayo Saka, share of dangerous attacks 100% before, 67% after. 68-69' Viktor Gyökeres for Kai Havertz, Myles Lewis-Skelly for Bruno Guimarães, share of dangerous attacks 25% before, 58% after.
Substitution impact for Arsenal: 10' Eberechi Eze for Bukayo Saka, share of dangerous attacks 100% before, 67% after. 68-69' Viktor Gyökeres for Kai Havertz, Myles Lewis-Skelly for Bruno Guimarães, share of dangerous attacks 25% before, 58% after.
Arteta’s immediate post-game comments were telling:
“Wow, what a game, that’s the level. That’s one of the highest levels that we played. The level of the opposition, what the game required, and our level as well. Two teams that want to press each other constantly, two teams that want to attack, that want to play. I think it was a fascinating game.”
In his post-game press conference, he added:
“We’ll take the draw, but it doesn’t mean we’re really happy about it because we prepared a team to win the game – you could see that from right at the beginning, with the mindset, the purpose the adventure team had to be very dominant and cause Bayern problems.”
Vincent Kompany, who had recovered sufficiently from a virus to take his place in the Bayern dugout, said:
“We faced a strong opponent; we felt it, we saw it. I think we had our moments. A few big chances that I didn’t think we’d get. A bit of a shame, because in the last ten to 15 minutes we suffered. It took a bit of our momentum. We still had the feeling we could win the game. But this is a strong opponent, and the game was never over. In that moment, the equaliser was a shame.”
Hopefully, the performance, if not the result, briefly quietens some of the tiresome discussion about Arsenal’s style of play. As Ben White once said, “Obviously, we’re quite good at football.”
It does help when the other team wants to play some too. In the Premier League, we spend plenty of time trying to prise apart a low block, with the opposition apparently hoping to win through the sheer structural integrity of their back five. Last night, both sides were prepared to press, attack and take risks. The spectacle benefited accordingly.
The obvious downside was Saka’s injury. He looked thoroughly unhappy as he limped off, and Arteta acknowledged the medical team’s concern.
“They are a bit concerned,” confirmed the Spaniard. “A player that has to come off with a really sharp pain is never good news.”
Saka was still limping on his way to the team bus, which does little to ease fears of a spell on the sidelines. We’ll have to wait for a proper assessment before knowing how long.
My brother cheerfully messaged to suggest a grade one quad tear could mean three months out. I’ll take that with a pinch of salt, seeing as his medical qualifications amount to an English literature degree from the University of Nottingham. Clearly, I missed the chapter of Wuthering Heights dealing with muscular rehabilitation.
A sad note to end on, but a memorable game. With seven points from nine, Arsenal remain in the automatic qualification spots after three games. Wins over Slavia Prague and Borussia Dortmund in November should help us consolidate that.
Right, let’s leave it there. Blogs should be back tomorrow, hopefully with an Arsecast and a pre-Everton Patreon podcast with Lewis. For now, have a great Thursday.