Arsenal (1) 2 Bayern Munich (2) 2
Champions League Quarter Final First Leg
Emirates Stadium, Drayton Park, London N5 1BU
Tuesday, 9th April 2024. Kick-off time: 8.00pm
(4-3-3) David Raya; Ben White, William Saliba, Gabriel Magalhães, Jakob Kiwior; 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, Takehiro Tomiyasu, Leandro Trossard, Fábio Vieira, Reiss Nelson, Mohamed Elneny, Karl Hein, Oleksandr Zinchenko
Scorers: Bukayo Saka (12 mins), Leandro Trossard (76 mins)
Yellow Cards: Thomas Partey
Arsenal Possession Percentage: 59%
Referee: Glenn Nyberg (Sweden)
Assistant Referees: Mahbod Beigi (Sweden), Andreas Söderqvist (Sweden)
Fourth Official: Adam Ladebäck (Sweden)
UEFA Referee Observer: Carlos Velasco Carballo (Spain)
UEFA VAR Team in Geneva: VAR Pol van Boekel (Netherlands); AVAR Dennis Higler (Netherlands)
Attendance: c.60,000
Tonight, we are hoping to reach the semi-finals of the Champions League for the first time in fifteen years, and so far the team news is good with no new injuries reported. Bayern Munich are a formidable European opponent, as we have seen to our cost in the past, but this evening’s match here at the Emirates is one of our most important matches for quite a few years now, and nothing else but a victory will do.
An incredible cacophony of sound, a wall of sound if you will, greeted the players as they walked onto the pitch tonight.
The visitors kicked off this quarter-final game and immediately both teams sprung into action. Of course, both Eric Dier and Harry Kane received boos and jeers as soon as they touched the ball, but that was only to be expected.
There was an early touch for former Gunner Serge Gnabry, but we were playing patiently from the back but veteran Bayern goalie Manuel Neuer has had nothing to do so soon in the game.
Bukayo Saka neatly robbed Alphonso Davies and slotted it neatly to our captain. Martin Ødegaard was not able to do much with it when the ball came to him on the edge of the penalty area, so he squared it for Gabriel Martinelli who was in a little more space, from which he whacked a superb effort just wide of Manuel Neuer’s far post.
On the twelfth minute, we took the lead when Ben White passed the ball to Bukayo Saka, whose left-footed shot from the right side of the penalty area flew past Manuel Neuer and ended up in the bottom left-hand corner of the net. A great start!
We almost grabbed a second goal a couple of minutes later when an extremely weak header from Serge Gnabry fell for Kai Havertz who played the ball through to Ben White with only Manuel Neuer to beat, but he shot the ball straight at the goalie, who saved it easily.
The visitors drew level when Serge Gnabry ran onto a ball from Leon Goretzka and he coolly put the ball through David Raya’s legs for the equaliser. Just afterwards, a Declan Rice cross met the head of Jakob Kiwior, whose weak header easily found the open arms of Manuel Neuer.
A Bukayo Saka corner found both Jakob Kiwior and Ben White, but the Bayern goalie pounced dramatically on the ball to claim it. On the half hour, Leroy Sane was brought down by William Saliba in the penalty area; referee Glenn Nyberg gave the penalty and Harry Kane (who else?) scored for the visitors.
A few minutes later, Leroy Sane ran through the middle of the pitch, and just as he was going to pull the trigger, Ben White made a world-class tackle to deny him a goalscoring chance.
With three minutes left of the first half, Martin Ødegaard won a corner, and Bukayo Saka got the ball to the back post this time with a decent delivery which Kai Havertz met first, before referee Glenn Nyberg spotted a push in the back on Harry Kane from Kai Havertz and awarded a free-kick to the visitors.
The half-time whistle was blown a little while later and we went into the break two-one down.
We started the second half well, and with Mikel Arteta replacing Jakob Kiwior with Oleksandr Zinchenko, we could hopefully see more action in the midfield areas now.
A lovely ball from William Saliba found Kai Havertz, who got towards the byline and looked up for Gabriel Martinelli running in at the back post, but Joshua Kimmich was there first, who headed it back neatly to Manuel Neuer.
We were awarded a free-kick in which Declan Rice hit the ball over the crossbar, and as both teams were trying desperately to find a way through these tight defences, Harry Kane received a well deserved yellow card for putting an elbow into Gabriel’s jaw.
The corresponding free-kick was cleared by the Bayern defence, and a couple of minutes later, Bukayo Saka was brutally brought down by Konrad Laimer and unfortunately the following free-kick was chipped into nowhere by our captain.
The visitors were absorbing pressure and were devastating on the break; somehow we have to gain control of this game. Kai Havertz went down in the Bayern penalty area, but our calls for a penalty were denied by the referee, and then Leandro Trossard and Gabriel Jesus replaced Gabriel Martinelli and Jorginho in an effort to grab that all-important goal.
Martin Ødegaard slotted the ball to Gabriel Jesus, who intelligently gave the ball to Declan Rice, whose shot was disappointingly blocked by a Bayern defender.
Leandro Trossard and Gabriel Jesus combined well before feeding Bukayo Saka out on the right wing. He put the ball into the back post for Leandro Trossard, but unfortunately he was beaten in the air by Matthijs de Ligt.
With fourteen minutes of the match remaining, we grabbed the equaliser when Martin Ødegaard flicked the ball round the corner to Bukayo Saka, who played Gabriel Jesus into the penalty area. He held onto it past a few challenges and squared it beautifully for Leandro Trossard to roll it into the far corner. What a goal!
The visitors came back at us, which was to be expected, but we managed to hold them off. After a shot by Bukayo Saka that went inches past the post, Kai Havertz was replaced by Thomas Partey for the last five minutes of this incredible match, who within no time at all received a yellow card for a tough tackle on Jumal Musiala.
We got a real let-off when Kinglsey Coman, who put the ball through David Raya’s legs and smacked it against the base of the post and back into play. During the five minutes injury time, there was controversy when Bukayo Saka ran through on goal and Manuel Neuer came out and they clashed, with the result being that our man hit the ground, and how the referee did not give us a penalty was a crime within itself. But a draw it was, and the second leg next week in Munich should be an absolute cracker!
What a match! So much to talk about, so many incidents, with the main one being the penalty that never was at the end of the match.
How the referee did not give that, was unbelievable, but we need to recover and focus on the second leg next week.
The substitutes utilised by Mikel Arteta were inspirational, and we have every chance of beating them back in Germany in the return leg. Every man played their part, every man did the best that they possibly could and a draw is absolutely no disgrace tonight. All to play for at the Allianz Arena! Well done chaps!
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: Aston Villa at the Emirates on Sunday, 14th April at 2.30pm (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
She Wore A Yellow Ribbon 