The Gunners used the raucous Emirates atmosphere to their advantage early on by getting on the front foot. They made their pressure pay with Bukayo Saka finishing superbly from an acute angle just inside the box 12 minutes into the affair.
But a calamitous sequence by Gabriel Magalhaes, Jakub Kiwior and David Raya allowed Bayern to mount a devastating counter, leading Serge Gnabry to score a one-on-one just six minutes later. And more poor defending saw Leroy Sane waltz through their box before being brought down for a penalty by William Saliba, which villain of the night Harry Kane coolly slotted.
The atmosphere inside the Emirates turned nervous as Arsenal continued to control the game in the second half, before super-substitute Leandro Trossard slotted clinically in the 76th minute to give his side a fighting chance in Munich. Bukayo Saka had a major penalty shout denied in the final seconds when he was brought down by Manuel Neuer, but the winger was deemed to have initiated the contact.
Arteta’s men failed in their rest defence, appearing wide open whenever Bayern retained possession and being carved open with simple and direct passes. The Gunners centre-backs were pulled high up the pitch, leaving space in behind.
It appeared Arsenal were simply not prepared to deal with Bayern’s dribbling prowess, as Sane was afforded enough space to dance his way into the box and earn a penalty after a clumsy challenge by Saliba. Jakub Kiwior had a display to forget, being caught sleeping for Bayern’s first and seemingly out of his depth facing Sane.
The Spaniard is understandably wary of rushing the Japanese international back into intense action so soon after his injury. But Tomiyasu just so happens to be Arsenal’s best defensive full-back.
He is far quicker than Kiwior and would have been more adept in thwarting Bayern’s pacey forwards. Arteta realized his error at half-time, opting to bring on Oleksandr Zinchenko for Kiwior to add greater control in the middle.
Meanwhile, the introduction of Gabriel Jesus and Leandro Trossard added greater threat in the final third. Jesus proved a menace for Bayern’s sluggish defenders with his fancy footwork.
He dribbled his way into the opposition box and set up Trossard exquisitely, who slotted into the bottom left corner to draw level. Even after falling behind, despite being the better side, Arsenal stuck to their game-plan and did not panic in possession.
They topped Bayern on possession, shots on target and passing accuracy stats, meaning they could well have come away with a victory on another night.
