Bayern Munich (0) 1 Arsenal (0) 0

Champions League Quarter Final Second Leg

Allianz Arena, Werner-Heisenberg-Allee 25, 80939 München, Germany

Wednesday, 17th April 2024. Kick-off time: 8.00pm

(4-3-3) David Raya; Ben White, William Saliba, Gabriel Magalhães, Takehiro Tomiyasu; Martin Ødegaard (c), (Jorge Luiz Frello Filho) Jorginho, Declan Rice; Bukayo Saka, Kai Havertz, Gabriel Martinelli.

Substitutes: Aaron Ramsdale, Thomas Partey, Gabriel Jesus, Emile Smith-Rowe, Eddie Nketiah, Jakob Kiwior, Leandro Trossard, Fábio Vieira, Reiss Nelson, Mohamed Elneny, Karl Hein, Oleksandr Zinchenko

Yellow Cards: Ben White, Gabriel Jesus

Arsenal Possession Percentage: 48%

Referee: Danny Makkelie (Netherlands)

Assistant Referees: Hessel Steegstra (Netherlands), Jan de Vries (Netherlands)

Fourth Official: Sander van der Eijk (Netherlands)

UEFA Referee Observer: Domenico Messina (Italy)

UEFA VAR Team in Geneva: VAR Rob Dieperink (Netherlands) AVAR, Clay Ruperti (Netherlands)

Attendance: c.75,000

Our captain Martin Ødegaard and Bukayo Saka will be assessed before tonight’s match, and it looks like that there is no other further reported injuries. As they all are now, this is an important game for everyone associated with the club, and nothing but a win will do this evening, of course.

The home side started the match tonight in a jam-packed, white hot (but misty) Allianz Arena, and in the early stages, we were stroking the ball around between our players well, it has to be said. England captain Harry Kane had the first shot of the match with a side footed effort for Bayern, which went just wide of the post, thankfully. Both teams were looking rather nervous, with nobody wanting to make a mistake, being extremely careful both on and off the ball. Gabriel Martinelli had a looping shot that went just wide of Manuel Neuer’s left-hand post, after which followed a period of good football from us. Bukayo Saka had a good chance to run at Noussair Mazraoui for the first time and managed to beat him but the cross was too high for Gabriel Martinelli to get to, unfortunately, and with the space in the midfield area at a premium, it appears that the wings are going to be where a lot of the action could be tonight. Leroy Sané got in behind Takehiro Tomiyasu but his cross was cleared for a Bayern corner, which was cleared well by our defenders. Gabriel Martinelli showed some clever footwork nudging and jinking his way through the Bayern defence, but goalie Manuel Neuer was on hand to save the day for the home side. Konrad Laimer slipped the ball on his left to Noussair Mazraoui, whose pace was absolutely electric and he managed to beat our offside trap, but Ben White dived in to make a crucial block, deflecting Noussair Mazraoui’s shot beyond the far post. Bayern were pressurising our goal constantly, and somehow we managed to break out and cause their defence some major problems. There was a nice move, when Ben White was played in behind on the right wing but his chipped cross was too weak to reach Kai Havertz. Just after the half hour mark, a superb effort by Martin Ødegaard took a slight deflection from the edge of the penalty area and Manuel Neuer had to scramble quickly across to his right to keep it out, and then merely moments later, Kai Havertz sneaked in behind the Bayern defence and Manuel Neuer had to race off his line to close him down quickly; it made no difference, as the offside flag went up just afterwards. At the other end, Joshua Kimmich slipped the ball through to Jamal Musiala, who had got in behind Takehiro Tomiyasu but a decent tackle from William Saliba conceded a corner. Bukayo Saka went down with a ball in the face, but he recovered and the match continued, only for our captain to go down injured just outside the Bayern penalty area. A Declan Rice free kick found the head of Kai Havertz, but his header was easily plucked out of the air by Manuel Neuer, followed a minute or so later by a twenty-five yard shot by Ben White which simply flew over the Bayern crossbar. Although there was not that many chances created by both teams during the first half, it still finished honours even at the break.

We started the second half proceedings in this crucial match, and within a minute, a cross from Joshua Kimmich picked out Leon Goretzka, who headed the ball towards the far corner. David Raya was beaten but the ball hit the crossbar and bounced away from the goal, but the ball dropped to Raphaël Guerreiro on the rebound but William Saliba got a block in and deflected the ball onto the post as we miraculously survived! A long ball nearly caught Manuel Neuer out, but he managed to clear the ball, just as Gabriel Martinelli was coming in too fast. The match stopped briefly for Takehiro Tomiyasu to find his contact lens, and shortly afterwards Konrad Laimer received a deserved yellow card when he fouled our captain. Gabriel Martinelli did well down the left wing but Eric Dier came across to block Kai Havertz as he came flying in on goal. Just after the hour, the home side took the lead with a headed goal from Joshua Kimmich when he ran in to meet a cross from Raphaël Guerreiro which caught our defence cold. Mikel Arteta then made a double substitution when Gabriel Jesus and Leandro Trossard replaced Jorginho and Leandro Trossard just after the hour in order to try and grab some goals. Joshua Kimmich whipped in a dangerous free-kick from the right but it was flicked wide by Matthijs de Ligt and the continual pressure from Bayern was starting to wear our defence down. We managed to break out and were awarded a corner, which was well taken by Bukayo Saka but it was easily dealt with by the Bayern defence. Yet again the home side came at us, and frustration was setting in. Martin Ødegaard took a superb free-kick but nobody was on the end of it, and it bounced out of play harmlessly for a Bayern goal kick. Declan Rice won the ball and he had Gabriel Jesus up front in support and the Brazilian pointed to where he wanted the ball, so Declan Rice obliged but Gabriel Jesus could not find the goal as he blasted the ball high and wide of the target; it mattered not, as he was adjudged to be offside. Ben White received a yellow card for a tackle on Raphaël Guerreiro and then Takehiro Tomiyasu was replaced by Eddie Nketiah, as we are going for broke with the clock running down. A shot from our captain came off both a defender and Manuel Neuer and the officials gave a goal kick which was a total disgrace. The match officials gave four minutes injury time, and Bukayo Saka got to the ball at the back post and knocked it back into the danger area, Kai Havertz tried to get on the end of it but the linesman’s flag went up for offside. With just a minute of time to go, Bukayo Saka won a free-kick in a really promising position, so we took it quickly and Ben White almost got to it, but a tackle came in and we won a corner, which was easily dealt with by the Bayern defence. The referee Danny Makkelie blew the final whistle and our European campaign was brought to an end.

Such a terrible shame, really. Very disappointing overall. On the night, it was a silly moment when the defence went to sleep as the goal was scored, and after that, we never really regained our previous composure. Bayern simply wore us down, and shut up shop. The harder we tried to score, the more they defended and kept us out, sadly. In many ways, our inexperience showed at the Allianz Arena, but perhaps the quarter-final was lost in the first leg at the Emirates when we let them off the hook. Who knows? But the positives here tonight were that this was our first Champions League quarter-final in fifteen years, which for a team growing under our young manager Mikel Arteta and to produce two mainly toe-to-toe performances against a team such as Bayern Munich is really quite some achievement. Maybe next time.

Remember everyone, keep the faith, get behind the team and the manager, as this season is going to be crucial for our future success in all competitions. Stick with the winners. Our next match: Wolverhampton Wanderers at Molineux on Saturday, 20th April at 7.30pm (Premier League). Be there, if you can. Victoria Concordia Crescit.

Steve

Too Dearly Loved To Be Forgotten: Arsenal v Racing Club de Paris 1930-1962 by Steve Ingless (Rangemore Publications, ISBN 978-1-5272-0135-4) is now available on Amazon

Sunday was tough. There’s no denying that. But long term readers of the blog will know I not dwell on the past. They will also know I don’t overact to poor results.

We lost. It was our first league deader of 2024. It’s football. It happens. We move on. If you are not onboard with my philosophy then you only have yourself to blame for your unhappiness.

I genuinely don’t think I have another season in me to support this club man, I’m 18 in 3 weeks and I haven’t seen us lift ONE major trophy in my lifetime

— Capt 🇸🇬 (@AFC_Capt) April 15, 2024

Football is a tough game: you will have more disappointments than you will have success. And if after every disappointment you throw your toys out the pram and go into a state of depression then you are in for a long life of being a football fan.

I write this as I am on the Elizabeth Line to Heathrow. I am buzzing my tits off for Munich. Cannot wait to get there, to have a few beers, a good nights sleep and then the game tomorrow. And that is why I won’t dwell on the past.

I have probably spent over £100,000 on The Arsenal. I am 39. My money could be spent on other things – holidays, mortgage, etc. But I would not change a single penny that I’ve spent. And that is what it means following your club up and down a country.

If you want a happy ending everytime, go Thailand. Football is not for you. Me? I take the rough with the smooth. And tomorrow we go again.

UTA

Keenos

Arsenal (0) 0 Aston Villa (0) 2

Premier League

Emirates Stadium, Drayton Park, London N5 1BU

Sunday, 14th April 2024. Kick-off time: 4.30pm

(4-3-3) David Raya; Ben White, William Saliba, Gabriel Magalhães, Oleksandr Zinchenko; Martin Ødegaard (c), Declan Rice, Kai Havertz; Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Jesus, Leandro Trossard.

Substitutes: Aaron Ramsdale, Thomas Partey, Emile Smith-Rowe, Gabriel Martinelli, Eddie Nketiah, Jakob Kiwior, Takehiro Tomiyasu, (Jorge Luiz Frello Filho) Jorginho, Fábio Vieira.

Yellow Cards: Ben White, Gabriel, Kai Havertz

Arsenal Possession Percentage: 51%

Referee: David Coote

Assistant Referees: Tim Wood, Mark Scholes

Fourth Official: Paul Tierney

VAR Team at Stockley Park: VAR Peter Bankes; AVAR Nick Hopton

Attendance: 60,350

After the excitement of the match against Bayern Munich at the Emirates last Tuesday, we return to our bread-and-butter games in the Premiership this afternoon, against Aston Villa, the 1982 European Cup winners, who, in a simple twist of fate, defeated Bayern Munich 1-0 in the final. Could this be a European Champions League omen for us? By the way, today’s match is William Saliba’s forty-third start of the season for us, the most of any outfield player for a Premier League team across all competitions in this season. What a magnificent player he truly has been in our defence this year.

The visitors started the match this afternoon, and within two minutes, a looping header from Ollie Watkins landed on the roof of our net. In return at the Villa end, an excellent Ben White effort went just wide of the post, and then David Raya swept the ball up nicely from a long ball that ended up just outside his penalty area. Bukayo Saka managed to get in behind the Villa defence but Youri Tielemans blocked his pass from getting into the penalty area, but shortly afterwards, a long throw from Lucas Digne got into our penalty area, but thankfully, following a foul, we were awarded a free-kick by referee David Coote, thankfully. Leandro Trossard slipped in a lovely ball for Kai Havertz, who fired a strong shot straight at Emi Martinez from an extremely tight angle. Bukayo Saka went down to the floor after a tough tackle, but he got up on his feet and continued playing, despite holding his hip for a while. Oleksandr Zinchenko played a ball over the top of the Villa defence to release Kai Havertz who ran onto the ball towards the goal. He took a touch and composed himself but Emi Martinez thought quicker and got down low to save at our man’s feet. However, shortly afterwards, our captain slid a beautiful pass along the turf for Bukayo Saka but the England frontman got his footing wrong and smacked the ball unceremoniously into the side netting. A little while later, Emi Martinez kicked his clearance straight to Oleksandr Zinchenko and with the Aston Villa goalkeeper stranded, our enterprising full-back hit the ball first time towards goal from the halfway line, and fortunately for the visitors, it landed just wide of the post. Again Kai Havertz was sent in on a one-to-one with Emi Martinez, but Diego Carlos somehow managed to get back and dispossess our man as he bore down on goal. The resulting corner from Bukayo Saka went nowhere, and although our pressure on the Villa defence was constant, they were successful in keeping us at bay. Ben White was booked for holding back Nicolò Zaniolo by his shirt, and after he collided with his own team-mate, namely Youri Tielemans, the match was stopped briefly whilst he received treatment; a couple of minutes later, Gabriel lost possession, only for Ollie Watkins to run at our goal, and his clever shot hit the inside of the post and back out across the face of the goal, which was a real let-off. We then had a couple of real good chances to open the scoring, firstly from Leandro Trossard who should have scored from about two yards out, but Emi Martinez made a miracle save, and then a clever left-footed shot from Bukayo Saka just went wide of the post. Gabriel was booked following a high tackle on Morgan Rogers on the edge of our penalty area, but the resulting free-kick went into our wall and back into play. Half-time saw us going into the break honours even, after two minutes injury time. 

We restarted the game following the hiatus, and within a couple of minutes, we had a penalty shout denied when Diego Carlos clashed with Gabriel Jesus in the Villa penalty area, and then we had a free-kick awarded to us when Youri Tielemans handled the ball just outside the penalty area, but the subsequent free-kick hit the Villa wall and out into play. The visitors had certainly made a better fist of things this half, and we have found things difficult at times, although a very good cross from our captain which looked like it was going somewhere, was easily picked up by Emi Martinez. A Bukayo Saka corner was cleared easily, but the resulting Ben White shot went way over the crossbar and into the crowd. Youri Tielemans hit the ball from the edge of the penalty area which hit the underside of the crossbar and came out into play, which was an incredible let-off for us. Emi Martinez made a fantastic save from the right foot of Gabriel Jesus, and a little while later play was stopped when Diego Carlos caught Martin Ødegaard in the chest when he attempted an overhead kick. Leandro Trossard and Ben White were replaced by Gabriel Martinelli and Takehiro Tomiyasu with twenty-three minutes of the match remaning, and still we were finding it tough breaking down this awkward Aston Villa team. Gabriel Martinelli run down the left-hand side and it looked like he had the beating of Ezri Konsa but the Villa man somehow managed to get in front of him and Aston Villa won a free-kick, which bounced off the wall and into the crowd, earning the visitors a corner, which was turned behind by Declan Rice. The second one was cleared well, and with twelve minutes of the match remaining, Emile Smith-Rowe and Jorginho replaced Martin Ødegaard and Gabriel Jesus, in order to get something out of this match tonight. Bukayo Saka then floated a ball over the top of the defence but none of his teammates could get to it, and it was eventually whacked clear by Pau Torres. With six minutes left of the match, Villa took the lead when an unmarked Leon Bailey tapped the ball into the net, and disastrously three minutes later, we lost the ball in midfield, and Ollie Watkins ran towards our goal and merely chipped the ball over David Raya and into the back of the net. Game over. On the stroke of full-time, Oleksandr Zinchenko was replaced by Eddie Nketiah for the eight minutes injury time awarded. We were constantly pushing and probing for a way through the Villa defence, but to no avail, sadly. Declan Rice took a whack at the ball from forty yards out of frustration, but it went over the bar and into the crowd, which was more or less the last effort of the match from our point of view. A matter of minutes later, referee David Coote blew the whistle to bring matters to a conclusion.

A very disappointing afternoon all things considered. We are now second in the Premiership table, two points behind Manchester City, and on the same points as Liverpool (who also lost today) but are above them on superior goal difference. After today’s result, we cannot afford any more slip-ups, we simply have to get maximum points from our remaining six matches, it’s as simple as that. It is common for teams to drop points on a run-in, but with the top three remaining so tight, the merest slip up could prove fatal; let’s hope that we are able to get ourselves together and recover our previous form quickly and firmly, otherwise we could be in for a spectacular crash, God forbid.

Remember everyone, keep the faith, get behind the team and the manager, as this season is going to be crucial for our future success in all competitions. Stick with the winners. Our next match: Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena on Wednesday, 17th April at 8.00pm(Champions League). Be there, if you can. Victoria Concordia Crescit.

Steve

Too Dearly Loved To Be Forgotten: Arsenal v Racing Club de Paris 1930-1962 by Steve Ingless (Rangemore Publications, ISBN 978-1-5272-0135-4) is now available on Amazon