Arsenal 2
Giroud 77’, Ozil 90+4’
Bayern Munich 0
Man of the match Petr Cech (Arsenal)
London // It was not supposed to turn out like this.
When Arsenal learnt they would face Bayern Munich in their third Uefa Champions League group match of the season, the pressure was expected to be off.
Having succumbed to shock losses to Dynamo Zagreb and Olympiakos in their two previous matches, however, Arsenal found themselves facing the continent’s most in-form team needing all three points.
Against the odds, that is exactly what they got.
In their last home encounter against Manchester United, Arsene Wenger’s charges came roaring out of the traps, overpowering and outplaying their opponents with quick running and neat interplay. In the first few minutes of this fixture, the shoe was on the other foot.
Indeed, while Wenger’s comments on Saturday that his side’s 3-0 defeat of Watford was the “perfect preparation” for the clash with Bayern were understandable, it was actually the worst warm-up possible: in the Premier League, Arsenal routinely control the ball and dictate the game’s tempo, but that was the privilege of the visitors on Tuesday night.
Bayern were so calm in possession in the opening exchanges, moving the ball around crisply and exploiting any small pockets of space they were afforded with clinical precision.
Arsenal found themselves camped back inside their own half, forced to retreat into a compact and narrow shape as Bayern prodded and probed.
Thiago Alcantara and Arturo Vidal both forced saves from Petr Cech, while Douglas Costa wreaked havoc from his position wide on the left.
The extent of Bayern’s dominance was summed up by the Emirates crowd, who cheered every misplaced pass as if their team had opened the scoring.
The German club, roared on by an animated Pep Guardiola – who spent the half straying so close to the edge of his technical area that he often appeared to be filling in at left-back for the visitors – played with the confidence expected of a side who had won every game they had played this term.
For all of their territorial superiority, however, Bayern failed to make the breakthrough.
This seemed to dawn on Arsenal at the half-hour mark; the hosts, emboldened by a couple of rare errors in possession from the Bundesliga leaders, started to venture forward, with Theo Walcott’s blistering speed noticeably worrying Bayern’s centre-back pairing of Jerome Boateng and David Alaba.
The 15-minute break seemed to rejuvenate Bayern, though, the visitors re-establishing control soon after the restart.
Arsenal looked unsure of what their approach should be; the natural tendency when chasing a goal is to be proactive, but the players wearing red and white were clearly wary of leaving gaps in behind.
Bayern, too, did not seem sure whether to seek a goal or sit on what they had. Cech again intervened to make stops from Costa and Robert Lewandowski, but Bayern began to ease off as the second half wore on.
With the game heading towards its conclusion, a goalless draw looked the most likely result. Olivier Giroud, who replaced Walcott to add muscle and an aerial power up top, clearly had other ideas, heading home after Manuel Neuer flapped unconvincingly at a free kick to send the home crowd into delirium.
Arsenal, understandably, sank back immediately after, but Bayern were shell-shocked and unable to prise open their tight defensive unit. Giroud held the ball up well to help relieve the pressure, with fellow substitute Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain offering a vital threat in behind.
When Mesut Ozil added a second deep into injury time and the referee blew the final whistle seconds later, Arsenal could celebrate an admirable triumph of spirit and commitment.
There were suggestions before the game that a defeat may actually be the best result for Wenger’s team, with an early Champions League exit allowing them to focus all their efforts on winning the Premier League title.
After a famous victory that kept their European hopes alive, jubilant Arsenal fans leaving the Emirates Stadium presumably disagreed.
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