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29 March 2024

Champions League heartbreak for Arsenal despite stunning Bayern Munich 2-0

Published
By Staff with Agencies

If you are an Arsenal fan you have been here before. You take down one of the biggest teams in the world in their own backyard with a great and brave performance. And still you go out. Arsenal have won 2-0 against Bayern Munich in Germany and lose the tie 3-3 on aggregate, on away goals.

Arsenal gave it their all as Bayern were totally off colour missing key players.

Giroud started things off with a goal in three minutes. Late in the second half Laurent Koscielny scored a towering header to set up a grandstand finish. But Arsenal could not find the winner.

Arsenal will have to finish fourth in the Premier League to stay in the Champions League next season. For this season, no trophies again.

However, a proud Gunner performance.And sometimes that is enough.

Game over

  • 90": Arteta wastes a free kick with everyone up. Feisty atmosphere between players now. Mertesacker gets in a great block to keep Bayern out.
  • 84": Santi Cazorla's outswinging corner is headed into the back of the net by Laurent Koscielny. Arsenal need one more goal. Can they do it?
  • 82": Fabianski having a great game. Keeps Muller out. Martinez gets a yellow card for a high challenge. Time running out for Arsenal now. Cazorla gets a yellow card now.
  • 80": Gervinho does a give and go with Cazorla, turns brilliantly in the box and sends his shot just inches wide of the far post. Mertesacker gets a yellow card for a Robben block.
  • 74": Giroud missess a header, slams the ball against a hoarding and gets booked. How silly is that? Robben cuts in on Gibbs and tries to curl it in the top corner, but hits it high and long.
  • 71": Again Muller sets up Kroos and again Kroos skies the ball. Double change for Arsenal. Gervinho and Oxlade-Chamberlain on. Walcott and Ramsey off. Mandzukic off for Bayern, Mario Gomez on.
  • 69": What a move, what a save. Muller backheel's pass splits the defence and sends Robben through. Jenkinson chases Robben all the way. Fabianski then stands tall to deny Robben. Kieran Gibbs than blocks a goal-bound shot off the corner. Another corner and Robben on the volley, can't do it.
  • 63": Lahm pulls one back to find Gustavo top of the box. He tries to curl on in the corner and just misses. Robben then sets up Kroos who fluffs his shot. Bayern shooting at will now, but to no effect.
  • 61": Rosicky fouled by Gustavo in a good position for Arsenal. Cazorla steps up. But he can only hit the wall. Bayern's quick throw-in catches Arsenal by surprise, but Mertesacker is back to cover. Yellow card for Rosciky as brings down Robben on the run.
  • 56": Walcott nearly springs the offside trap. The replay suggests he did and he was straight on goal Escape for Bayern. Muller fizzes one across the Arsenal goal-mouth no one can connect. Lahm gets a yellow card for tackling Cazorla on the counter.
  • 54": Great tackle from Ramsey to steal the ball from Lahm, but Arsenal give it away and the cross is cleared. Giroud gets the ball on the counter and tries a shot from distance - 40 yards out - with 6 players up with him. Wenger is furious.
  • 50": Bayern out hard and fast. Robben once again on the run, finds a runner out wide but the cross is cleared. Bayern take a quick free kick and Robben tries a long range effort. Wenger is on the touchline. He is worried.
  • 46": Robben almost scores early in the second half. He bobs and weaves and gets a shot off narrowly wide of the post. Toni Kroos is not closed down and sets up a great shot just wide of the post again.
  • 46": Second-half underway. Arsenal legend Ian Wright is proud of Arsenal and believe they can now do it. Bayern have to come to the party.

All the anti-Arsenal talk has been stood on its head after an explosive start from the Gunners at the Allianz Arena in Munich. A lightening move saw Cazorla set up Walcott who fizzed a cross which Giroud connected with for a goal in 3 minutes.

Bayern came back into the game, but not with any major conviction. The crowd certainly never recovered.

The game then seemed to drift into a midfield battle without any major dominance. Bayern had a few shots on goal with Thomas Muller finding the post, but for the most part the Arsenal defence held firm.

Theo Walcott fizzed another great cross which Giroud could not reach.

Robben bobbed and weaved and ran, but to no avail.

Arsenal very much in this game. The impossible is still on.

Half time

  • 42": Bayern looking a little bit laboured and ragged right now. They still are firmly in the driving seat. The tie is 3-2 on aggregate to Bayern with them enjoying 3 away goals. But you would not know that from the mood in the stadium. Arsenal ending the half strong. Gibbs slides in on Robben, and gets a yellow card.
  • 35": Arsenal pressing high up now and Bayern finding it difficult to get up the pitch. Tony Kroos nearly sets up Muller with a pass in the 6 yard box, but Arsenal clear. Arsenal need to get in to half time without conceding to really pressure Bayern. Giroud goes down injured when a ball is fizzed to him and ge gets a kick on the calf from a Bayern defender.
  • 31": Arsenal finally break and Theo Walcott sends a fantastic cross across the face of goal, but Giroud is just too slow. Cazorla doing all the feeding, when he can get on the ball.
  • 28": Robben is on fire now, weaving in and out till he gets a sight of goal, but sends the shot wife. Arsenal need to calm down a bit and hold the ball. Bayern are pressing high and winning the ball in Arsenal's half. Shots flying in and Muller hits the post from a tight angle.
  • 26": First real threat on Arsenal goal, Arsenal give it away and Bayern press to get a shot away, lucky it was straight at Fabianski. Robben goes on a 40-yard run, but Carl Jenkinson is up to the task and wins the ball. Arsenal giving the ball away too easily.
  • 23": Patient build up from Bayern. Dante sends the ball to the right where Lahm overlaps with Kroos who sends the ball in, but Fabianski is up to it. Martinez then sends a hot over from just outside the 'D'.
  • 20": Santi Cazorla is in the mood. He is spreading the ball around nicely. Rest of the Gunners need to be on hiw wavelength. Bayern's Alaba wastes a good chance to send in a probing cross.
  • 16": Bayern move to thread a through ball to Mandzukic, but Fabianski is out quickly to smother the ball. Arsenal certainly not looking over-awed.
  • 13": Problems with the pitch. Light snow reported to have made it slick and players struggling to stay on their feet. Bayern taking control of the game now. Arsenal's defence need to hold firm.
  • 9": Van Buyten sends a great cross-field ball to Alaba who sends the ball in and from the resulting corner Gustavo sends the shot goes over.
  • 8": Game being played at a fast pace. Bayern supporters finding their voice again after being stunned. Goal to goal action. Arsenal need 2 more goals without conceding to win on away goals.
  • 4": Cazorla threads a beautiful pass to Walcott who fizzes a cross and Giroud slots home beautifully. Bayern stunned. And immediately respond with a long strike, Fabianski saves.
  • 2": Robben on the left, Muller on the right. Bayern try to spring Arsenal's leaky offside trap with first move.
  • 0": It's game time here in Germany even as a German Pope makes way for an Argentinian. Note, Messi is also from... yeah you better believe it. If the Catholic Church can have a new Pope, Pope Francis I, can Arsenal have a new manager? Tonight may decide.

The team at whoscored.com once again provides the key stat for the game that could be the difference (apart from the 3 away goals of course) between an Arsenal miracle and an Arsenal humiliation.

Arsenal finished... or finishers?

Arsenal have the best conversion rate (19.3%) in the Champions League in 2012/13, but only four teams (all knocked out) have had fewer shots than them (57).

vs

Bayern the Mighty

The last time Bayern conceded 3 or more goals in a home game was on 15th March 2011, in a Champions League last 16, 2nd leg loss to Inter Milan.

Teams

Bayern Munich

  • Defence: Manuel Neuer, Philipp Lahm, Daniel Van Buyten, Dante, David Alaba
  • Midfield: Javi Martínez, Luiz Gustavo, Thomas Müller, Toni Kroos
  • Forwards: Arjen Robben, Mario Mandzukic 9
  • Substitutes: Claudio Pizarro, Mario Gómez, Rafinha, Anatoliy Tymoshchuk, Tom Starke, Diego Contento, Xherdan Shaqiri

Arsenal

  • Defence: Lukasz Fabianski, Carl Jenkinson, Per Mertesacker, Laurent Koscielny, Kieran Gibbs
  • Midfield: Mikel Arteta, Tomas Rosicky, Aaron Ramsey, Santi Cazorla
  • Forwards: Theo Walcott, Olivier Giroud Substitutes: Abou Diaby, Thomas Vermaelen, Andrei Arshavin, Vito Mannone, Francis Coquelin, Gervinho, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain

Arsenal must take inspiration from Barcelona's performance yesterday. No team in Europe plays more like Barca than Arsenal. Or try to. Who will be Arsenal's Messi tongight? With no Podolski, it will be up to Olivier Giroud. Giroud has had a blow hot, blow cold season so far for the Gunners. Can he put on a show tonight that silences the critics? This is what he is capable of.

Meanwhile, Gary Neville tweets: Am I wasting my time thinking that anything might make this an interesting game tonight? Just on my way to Munich for the match! G.Neville ‏@GNev2

Despite all the gloom and doom there are some portents of hope for the Gunners.

Bayern are missing Jerome Boateng (suspended), Bastian Schweinsteiger (suspended), and Ribery (ankle injury).

Also, twice in the history of the Champions League has a team lost the home leg of a knockout round match and survived by winning the away leg.

Ajax Amsterdam in 1995-96 against Panathinaikos and Inter Milan did it in the last 16 in 2010-11 - against Bayern.

The Germans won 1-0 in Milan in the first leg, before losing 3-2 at home and going out on the away goals rule.

Bayern coach Jupp Heynckes knows that Arsenal on their day are capable. He warned in his pre-match briefing: "Last year Arsenal lost 4-0 (away to AC Milan), then in the second leg they won 3-0 - they could have won 4-0, they had he chances, so it shows they are a strong team and capable of making up the gap."

The question is: does the team believe? Do the fans believe?

Because, the experts certainly do not.

Football experts, fans (and Piers Morgan) disgusted

Writing in his column in The Sun, Alan Shearer was as blunt as can be - “The last rites on Arsenal’s season will be read at the Allianz Arena this week.”

Gary Lineker tweets, in his typical sardonic manner, “Seems Wenger is going to rest a few players tonight. Presumably for the hectic fixture list they won't have if they lose.”

The English press is full of fan fury, especially those for forked out in advance to be in German for this leg.

Talk show celeb and dying hard Arsenal fan Piers Morgan tweets: "What s the point trying to qualify for a competition we then don't even try to win? Absolutely pathetic management. @piersmorgan

As one fan put it on Twitter: “Tonight show: Bayern vs Arsenal #Uefa. It could be a tragedy or a comedy, depending on how you watch the game.” ‏@veen_NT

Stay tuned as we countdown and you will find out.

Wenger's 'mad' genius

If one has to talk of a season-defining game, this might have been it.

Arsenal must stage one of the most unlikely Champions League comebacks to advance at the expense of hosts Bayern Munich in their round of 16 second leg clash tonight.

Bayern silenced the Gunners 3-1 in London last month to put themselves in the driving seat for a spot in the quarter-finals for the third time in the last four seasons.

Arsenal though have two goals to make up and must overcome the psychological disadvantage of having been completely outplayed by Bayern in north London - something coach Arsene Wenger was at pains to point out before the squad left for Germany.

"Our mentality is to go there, not resigned, but ambitious and provoke things, not go there and think 'we will not qualify anyway'.

"No, not at all. We will go to Munich and have to go there and give ourselves a chance to qualify with everybody believing we can do it."

So why then, one must ask, has Wenger left out key players from his squad for this match - Theo Walcott and Santi Cazorla.
Arsenal will also be missing Jack Wilshere, Lukas Podolski and Bacary Sagna.

The season defining moment would have been if the Gunners went to the Allianz Arena and won, even if they went out of the tournament fighting, with their heads held high.

But Arsene Wenger will look back on tonight and either savour a moment of mad genius, or get crushed under the weight of disgust by the die-hardest of Arsenal fans.

Click to watch Arsenal train ahead of clash