by A great statement from Arsenal was expected, but then it could have been much worse. The important point is that they are alive in the quarter final after the first leg pulsating 2-2, where the spirit of the very Champions League seemed to bring much more out of Bayern Munich.
Harry Kane even scored the penalty that made it 2-1 and put Arsenal on the edge, but Mikel Arteta’s side managed a superb rally with Leandro Trossard’s sharp finish.
This was probably the main lesson from the game, which is as important for the second leg in Munich as the aggregate score.
It showed the value of experience at this kind of level, but also how you start to develop it.
At first Arsenal threw everything at Bayern thinking they could go over, only to fall badly short of proper canniness, before adapting and showing their quality.
They were also left feeling aggrieved after being denied a penalty in the final act of the game, although Bukayo Saka appeared to have left a foot out hoping for a touch.
Perhaps it was fitting in its own way that even a draw like this ended with a flash, because this had gone so far.
At first it seemed like it was only going one way, like the initial goal.
Even before Saka modeled, it was one of those openings where you could imagine exactly what he was going to do. He was always going to curl the ball into the far corner. Manuel Neuer probably knew that too, but could do very little about it. The ball flowed into the net, as Arsenal surged.
Neuer did what he does best a minute later, though. The goalkeeper spread himself brilliantly as Ben White approached the goal, almost blinding the right back into a direct shot. It was a poor finish given the position he was in, but Neuer did a lot after that.
Arsenal would certainly prefer almost anyone else to be under the goal there.
It played into a strange turning point in the game.
Arsenal felt too comfortable, to the point of complacency. The direct result of that was the needless combination between David Raya and Gabriel, which put Bayern through the goal. Leon Goretzka showed real strength to power through that period, before offering some finesse in Serge Gnabry’s play in. The former Arsenal youth player put the ball in.
Bayern were back in. They have been greatly changed, in many ways.
The soon-to-be-deposed German champions looked right again. Meanwhile Arsenal went from being so confident of throwing everything forward to showing real nerves. Suddenly there were so many attacks when one of Bayern’s starters – usually Leroy Sane – was breaking fast, with only Gabriel ahead of him. Or, sometimes, behind it. That’s why it could be so much worse.
Kane scoring the goal that put Bayern ahead was bad enough.
Arsenal were rattled enough to give Sane an unnecessary penalty, and the former Tottenham Hotspur striker put it in gently. Kane was later lucky not to be sent off for a stray elbow.
This was not the only time Bayern went a little further than the final.
This was the lively thing about the game at that point, though. He felt a right tie in the Champions League in the levels he was going too. It was a throwback, almost.
Bayern have been so fragile in recent weeks, where some of Germany’s most modest sides have shown their vulnerability brutally, but they were now holding Arsenal at arm’s length like an Italian side from the 1990s. It said a lot that Odegaard had the ball so often in the pocket in front of the Bayern area, only to force him to wander very long.
There was also real game management, constantly disrupting Arsenal’s rhythm. Maybe that’s where experience came in, too.
For all recent editions of Bayern, they have plenty of nous from so many seasons in this competition. Arsenal do not. It was almost like they let the event get to them. It’s possible even the lack of away fans was involved, as it took away some of the atmosphere.
Arsenal had to do something, though. Arteta had to do something. They created little from the first half.
There were two main sources. One Sane was leaving, taking away some of Bayern’s spirit. The other Trossard was going forward.
The effect was almost immediate.
Gabriel Jesus did very well to finally get into the Bayern box, before doing even better to work the ball and space. The Brazilian crossed the ball to Trossard who finished so cleverly past Neuer.
That sets a tense mood for the final few minutes, but also sets up an exciting second leg.
This was a Champions League quarter-final, as Bayern reminded everyone that there is a real team.
