The unbeaten start to the season ended for Bayern Munich on Wednesday as Arsenal clinched a comfortable 3-1 win against Vincent Kompany’s men at Emirates Stadium. Courtesy of the defeat, Bayern slipped to third place in the Champions League points table.
Vincent Kompany made the obvious changes to the starting XI that played in the 6-2 win against Freiburg last weekend. Joshua Kimmich and Serge Gnabry returned to the starting lineup after recovering from minor injuries, while Lennart Karl kept his place in the attack ahead of Nicolas Jackson.
Bayern started the game strongly, dominating possession and pinning the home side deep in their half. However, the large volume of possession didn’t translate into chances. Arsenal defended resolutely and offered no gaps in their defense for Die Roten to capitalise. Bayern kept on recycling possession without offering a threat in the final third.
Arsenal managed to deliver the first blow on Bayern after soaking up the pressure in the first 20 minutes. The hosts opened the scoring in the 22nd minute through a set-piece. Bukayo Saka delivered a vicious cross from the left corner, which was headed past Manuel Neuer by Jurrien Timber.
Arteta’s men got better after scoring the opener, consistently winning the ball higher up the pitch. They came close to doubling the lead in the 31st minute, when Eberechi Eze’s shot was just wide off the post after some impressive link-up play with Mikel Merino.
Die Roten managed to recover and eventually got the equalizer a minute later. Joshua Kimmich played a brilliant long aerial pass from deep to find the run of Serge Gnabry on the right flank. The German forward pulled a cutback to find the run of Lennart Karl. The teenager expertly finished the move to bring Bayern back in the game. The first half ended with a few decent half-chances for both sides, but Arsenal looked more likely to get the next goal of the game.
Arsenal stepped up and dominated Bayern in the second half
The home side continued from where they left off in the first half. Bayern looked fatigued when it came to pressing Arteta’s men. Arsenal dominated the game and had more clear-cut chances, but Die Roten were trying their best to ride the tide.
The persistence of Arsenal eventually paid off in the 69th minute. After a nice bit of link-up play between Eze and Ricardo Calafiori on the left flank, the Italian defender delivered an inviting cross in the box. Noni Madueke managed to beat his defender and hammered the ball into the net with his left foot.
Manuel Neuer made several crucial saves to stop Arsenal from taking the lead, but he couldn’t have done anything to stop Madueke’s goal. The German goalkeeper did make a mistake a few minutes later, which settled the game. From a deeper position in the 77th minute, Eze found the run of Gabriel Martinelli on the left flank. Neuer came charging to clear the ball since he was the last line of defense. However, the Brazilian winger managed to beat Neuer for the ball and eventually deposited the ball in the empty net.
Arsenal saw out the remainder of the game to maintain their perfect record in this season’s Champions League. Bayern were thoroughly dominated as they managed a meagre eight shots in the game with only two shots on target. Meanwhile, Arsenal had 13 shots in the game with eight shots on target. The hosts also created seven big chances compared to one from Bayern.
The winning run comes to an end for Die Roten, but the clash against Arsenal will be a good learning curve for Kompany’s men. They can still seal an automatic qualification for the round of 16 by winning their next three games in the Champions League.
Stats courtesy- Fotmob