Arsenal and Bayern Munich slugged out an entertaining 2-2 draw at Emirates Stadium that leaves their Champions League quarter-final in the balance ahead of next week’s return leg in Germany.
While Bukayo Saka gave the Gunners the perfect start, curling home on 12 minutes, Mikel Arteta relied on another super sub contribution from Leandro Trossard to salvage something from the match after sloppy mistakes in the first half allowed Serge Gnabry and Harry Kane, via the penalty spot, to put the visitors in the driving seat.
Swedish referee Glenn Nyberg might easily have awarded two further penalties in the second half but he waved away Saka’s claim right at the death having done the same to Bayern after a weird mix-up between David Raya and Gabriel Magalhaes.
Here’s what the managers, players, stattos and pundits made of it all.
Mikel Arteta on a see-saw evening…
It was a really intense match. I think we started really well. We started to dominate it, to play in the opponents’ half and we generated some momentum, scored a really good goal with B. And there obviously was the moment in the match when Ben White is in front of Neuer to make it 2-0 and then the game and tie changes quickly. We didn’t [score] and then unfortunately today, we have given two very poor goals away and against a team with that individual quality, they’re going to punish you.
Source: Arsenal.com
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Thomas Tuchel on his side’s performance…
I think we could have won it at the end, we had the huge chance with Kingsley [Coman]. It was a tough night against a very good opponent. The fans were really behind Arsenal, the result is okay.
Source: Uefa.com
Arsenal (1.35) 2-2 (2.28) Bayern
— The xG Philosophy (@xGPhilosophy) April 9, 2024
Arteta on whether Bukayo Saka should have been awarded a penalty…
I haven’t seen it, the decision is made and we have to focus on other aspects that we can control, we could’ve done much better tonight.
Source: Post-game press conference
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Tuchel on the referee failing to award Bayern a second penalty…
I know it’s crazy situation but they put the ball down, he whistles, they give the ball free and the defender takes the ball in his hand. What makes us really angry is the explanation on the field. He [the referee] told our players that it’s a kid’s mistake and he will not give a penalty like this in a quarter-final. This is a horrible, horrible explanation because that means he’s judging our handballs. Kid’s mistake, adult’s mistake, or whatever.
Source: TNT Sports
6 – Leandro Trossard has scored six goals as a substitute in all competitions this season; no player has more from the bench for clubs in Europe's big-five leagues in 2023-24. Super. pic.twitter.com/0GB4RKmxoQ
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) April 9, 2024
Leandro Trossard on the result Gabriel Jesus’ assist for his goal…
He dribbled his way through and the moment he was in the box, I shouted his name because I knew I was free. Luckily he saw me, and it’s the perfect goal for us – it was a great feeling. We’re not pleased but when you are 2-1 down at half-time you will take a point at the end. We started so well, we could have scored two or three goals after taking the lead. You can see what kind of quality Bayern have to hurt us.
Source: Arsenal.com
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Harry Kane on Bayern’s performance…
Having no fans here tonight was tough. Having a full stadium [next week] will push us on. We had a big chance to go 3-1 up but Leroy [Sane] didn’t put it away unfortunately. You saw a real determined team today. We had to show togetherness and show fight. Today was small step in the right direction.
Source: TNT Sports
Players to score in each of their first four home appearances in the UEFA Champions League:
◎ Alessandro Del Piero (March 1996)
◎ Frederic Kanoute (March 2008)
◎ Oscar (September 2013)
◉ Leandro Trossard (April 2024).— Harvey Downes (@HarveyDownes92) April 9, 2024
Martin Keown on the referee waving away Saka’s claim for a penalty…
If you had 10 top European referees here tonight, nine of them would have given it. This referee is the only one who hasn’t given it. I find it quite alarming he has not given that penalty.
Source: TNT Sports
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Matthew Upson on Arsenal’s struggle to create chances…
Arsenal wanted to dominate the ball and create all the opportunities but the middle of the park for Bayern Munich was so solid and really condensed the space. They didn’t allow a lot to go past them and put in some really good tackles – it was a top performance from Bayern. Whether they can play as well as that at home we will have to wait and see, but it was hard for Arsenal to create chances.
Source: BBC Sport
Not a pen for me. Work to do in Munich 💪🏾
— Ian Wright (@IanWright0) April 9, 2024
Arteta on the mood in the Arsenal dressing room…
Yeah obviously, in certain way we are alive and we’ve done what we had to do when the game became very difficult for us but as well as understanding that we have to step up the level in certain aspects of the game, to be much better and to have a real chance to win the game.
Source: Post-game press conference
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Uefa’s Technical Observer Panel on the decision to award Martin Odegaard the man-of-the-match award…
He was very influential, unsettling the Bayern defence alongside Saka and White on the right. He kept a good tempo with the ball and helped his team press.
Source: Uefa.com
COYG!
Funny that the most upsetting match of 2024 is a draw against 6 time CL winners and 11 in a row Bundasliga champions, in the quarterfinals of the CL.
Our hopes have been raised by our great manager and players! Thanks to all of them!
Yes agree, obviously Bayern are no mugs in this competition, i would of taken a draw at half time tbh, what is pleasing we are now playing at an elite level with the big boys of Europe after being and looking years away from contending in CL, as its going to be a big ask to go through it’s very doable with the right starting 11, let’s put this game to bed and concentrate on another tricky game ahead.
Tuchel may not be wrong about what he says but he still comes across as a crybaby.
without intending to offend anyone, for me it’s the amount of comments about the saka penalty with which come across as crybaby, especially when we were forgiven for the most stupid penalty that should have been awarded in the history of the champions league when gabriel touched the ball with his hand. seriously, that is 100% a penalty and we got away with it. so please let’s stop crying about how we deserved one.
Yes, well said. We were uncharacteristically flustered for much of the match. The ref did well to use his common sense in both instances of a big event.
Looking forward to next week!
I agree about the Saka penalty, but I like to think if the opposing team had a fuck up like the Gabby handball (which I didn’t even see in the stadium somehow!), that the referee would demonstrate some pragmatism as he did with us.
I’m sure plenty of people would be calling for it, totally understand why, but there has to be some human element in the game and the guy just not hearing the whistle is very much part of that.
Regardless- pay back for RvP in the Nou Camp!
What is it with Arse players not hearing whistles in CL knock-on games?
At least this one didn’t cost us like RvP’s did!
From what I saw of the Saka situation it didn’t look like a penalty and I’ve chosen to not comment any further. It’s done. That goes for the rest of the penalty situations of the game as well. On a whole I thought the ref was good. Perfect? Maybe not but he took no shit from anyone and made swift and fair decisions throughout. Not often we as followers if the EPL can say that. We had some lucky breaks, they had some lucky breaks. The result wasn’t ideal but we are still in the game and we get to… Read more »
and a really ugly one as well
Tuchel and Kane: Ratman and Dobbin.
Skeletor and Lord Openmouth.
Applying Blogs standards I’d be screaming for that penalty if an opposition defender picked up the ball after it was kicked.
Rules are clear, the ball is in play after it is kicked. The only way to argue out is that the referee is given some freedom to apply the rules as per the ‘spirit of the game’.
Not one fan in the stadium even noticed it. If you genuinely think that’s a penalty, regardless of which side did it or who you support, I think not just football, but any sort of sport or game based on fair competition simply isn’t designed for you.
Interesting. I didn’t see live, and since it wasn’t included in the highlights package i found like a 10 second YouTube reel when I read Tuchel’s post match comments. Maybe it looks worse out of context. But from the video it looks very much like Raya is intentionally passing to Gabriel… and if that was his intention, and big Gabbi wasn’t switched on, I’d say that’s his fault.
https://youtube.com/shorts/20fN92E7h_o
Gabi could have just tapped it back to Raya rather than grabbing it and replacing it.
It is maybe instructive that VAR didn’t call for that to be reviewed though.
But I do understand too that you want the ref to uphold the spirit of the game and giving such a soft penalty in such a big game could have spoilt the game.
But I’d guess if he gave this one he also gives Sakas at the end. And maybe not giving this caused him to not give. Humans want to balance their decisions
On the subject of PK, Arteta should put Ramsdale in for PKs. Raya is no better than me in that department. I jump one side without thinking. He does same.
Ignoring the fact that changing out GKs is a bit stupid, when have you ever seen Ramsdale save a penalty? That was my main criticism of him- he never got close to them.
You have forgotten the Porto tie already?!
When you don’t think, you can’t actually remember
that xG obviously doesn’t include the penalty we should’ve been given… thankfully Leo’s clinical finishing allowed us to rescue a point (I hope no one corrects him on that, it’s too cute)
Nah, I reckon the ref got it spot on. Bak is my favorite player, but he’s trying to buy that when he’s already past Neuer, just carry on and bang it in. No need to hang your leg looking for a pen. Video ref agreed. Credit the ref. I thought for the immensity of the match in his first knock out CL game he had a great game and let it flow. Can’t we get him in the EPL? Oh wait, the PMGOL isn’t after objectivity in referees they’re after directivity.
Have you even run at full pace, beat a player you’re trying to skip away from while trying to balance yourself so you can plant your right foot for a finish?
If yes, how did you think Saka should have moved his leg to ensure he balanced himself up properly for the finish you speak of?
Neuer’s right leg is clearly stretched out. At the very least, the ref should have been sent to the monitor. Shambolic officiating in the end.
Nice one…🤣
Agreed. VAR is there to assist the referee in making the correct call, and the speed at which the play unfolded merits another look considering that it happened in the penalty area and Neuer clearly stuck a leg out. One angle doesn’t look a penalty, the other one does — if the ref sees both and decides to stick with his call on the field, I am OK with that. But use the technology and means at hand to make the right call. That’s what it is there for.
They did. Arsenal players and manager said they were told VAR checked it – no goal.
If they did check it it was a 10 second check at most, which is not what you want for that sort of situation. Stop the play, take a minute and look at it from all angles, they definitely didn’t do that.
I mean the ref should have been instructed to review the incident on the pitch-side monitor — give him the angles available, let him decide. Big moment.
Ask Ian Wright.
Yeah I agree that it was not a pen.. Seeing Bukayo furious reaction on the pitch I almost and really really want to believe him but after seeing the replay just a few times I have to say I can’t for the life of me buy what he is selling… Sometimes in the EPL when I see this sorts of thing happens I got slightly frustrated at our players becoz we are Arsenal…. not Liverpool or MU…We won’t be allowed neither by VAR nor the British media to buy this sort of penalties…but its different for Liverpool or MU becoz… Read more »
xG I always think is very weird in that it leaves the impression of some acts of brilliance being less lucky than the other. Saka’s dummy and finish was absolutely world class, difficult to perform and unlikely to result in a goal, meaning it was given a low xG and we’re “lucky”. Sane’s fantastic turn followed by a run beating Rice and Gabriel then getting fouled by Saliba was equally world class, and at the point he received the ball by the byeline with his back to goal it was far less likely to result in a goal, but because… Read more »
One little criticism I have of Wrighty is that he tries too hard to be “fair” on TV. It’s as if he wants to make sure he is liked by the other pundits.
In another comment I said it was never a penalty. Watching it again and again, I’m not sure why Saka would go for a penalty while he is easily past the keeper. Maybe I’m wrong.
Not a penalty. He hangs his leg out. I agree with you. Focus on scoring bukayo!! Some game. Feels like we could have got more, but we could have lost. Two mistakes cost us, but the second half we gave it away a lot and Bayern were deadly on the counter. Everything to play for. We need a real vintage Arsenal defensive performance, we didn’t tonight, but I feel we will next week. We got this!!
Clearly a pen if you’ve ever played football and tried to turn hard left at full speed.
Turning hard left at speed?! Wtf are you talking about? He literally needs to “turn” about 5 degrees to his left and the least time I tried turning on the run I had slighty move my weight (and legs) also to the left. I’ve never found hanging a leg out to the right very effective in helping me turn left. Come on man, he tried to buy a pen and didn’t get it. I freaking love the guy, but It was a mistake because of he didn’t do it he scores. I’m all about calling out when we get screwed… Read more »
Try dinking the ball to the left with the outside of your left foot in full speed while trying to pivot and turn left. Your right foot will naturally go wide and up. It’s clear as day. Saka might have even raised his right foot higher to try to jump over Neuer’s right leg, but Neuer actually moved forward and dangled his right leg, which made contact inevitable. Saka dribbled past Neuer and the GK clipped him. It’s clear as day, penalty all day long. I agree we have to earn our semis spot in Munchen, and it’s obviously not… Read more »
Well it doesn’t need to have played football. We have seen a lot of them and our eyes is well used to a normal and unnorrmal move.
I love this team but we were poor tonight. I’m disappointed. The occasion clearly got to the players and Arteta didn’t manage the game well. The start was great but we clearly have a lot of room to grow in this competition. For starters, Declan Rice needs to be put in a position where he can help us defend their transitions and he wasn’t except for 10 minutes in the second half. I agree with Wright, Neuer stood still and Saka ran into him rather than the keeper initiating a challenge. I thought he should have tried to take it… Read more »
Jorgs was the wrong player as was kiwior. Needed more mobility at the base of midfield against that counter attacking juggernaut. Jesus up top, Havertz #8, Rice #6, zinny LB was the team. I think we started the team we need to start next week tonight and it cost us. Even the first goal, Gabriel kinda fucked it up, but zinny would have been in the right place to take the pass. Kiwior should have done better getting a touch on that. Felt like we never quite had the balance tonight, we were so open. Sad to say, but Tuchel… Read more »
Arteta will be up all night thinking about how Tuchel flipped the script on him and forced their game plan on us. That mid block ceding possession to us must have been a surprise, but that’s what made Rice into an ineffective decoy and forced Jorginho into covering territory against their elite outlets. They maximized their assets while minimizing ours. That’s coaching.
It shouldn’t be underestimated that Tuchel has tons of CL experience, has managed against Arteta before, has coached Jorginho and Havertz, and Arteta is on his maiden voyage as a CL manager.
Yeah, great summary. I’ve still got a feeling we’re going to advance. I totally expect Arteta to heavily analyse it and pick apart these issues and I think we’ll pull off a proper defensive effort this team can be proud of. He’s a great manager learning his trade. It felt like he was trying to stick with what has been working than switching things up for the opponent – lessons will be learned. COYG!
Strange conclusions considering the opening comments. I think at this level of the competition it is about the execution and special moment on the pitch, and not Arteta’s youthfulness. They managed two shots on target and scored both; not sure that warrants such praise of Tuchel and Bayern’s forcing their game plan on us. We were once again our own worst enemies, an element of this young Arsenal side that we haven’t seen in a while — and hopefully we don’t see again anytime soon. Bayern came with very little to lose last night, but it is not like they… Read more »
Sure, football is a moments sport. But moments happen in the context of the flow of a game and the flow is determined by who can impose themselves better. There’s no doubt in this game that team was Bayern. They pose some unique problems for us. Musiala is so special and when he drifts deep to collect and progress, how do you stop that? You commit more bodies forward to outnumber him, but then you leave your back line on an island against Kane and Sane. This makes them impossible/impractical to press effectively with consistency. That’s been Arsenal’s plan A… Read more »
Sure, but between two evenly matched teams in the semi-finals of the CL (both games ending in draws last night), moments make the difference, and they can easily go against the flow of the game. I disagree that Bayern were better in this respect. Top teams will always pose problems for us — Porto caused us all kinds of problems, too. We made some mistakes yesterday, and very gifted players made us pay for it. Bayern defended well, and made things difficult for us — but we had four really incisive attacking moments that on a more efficient day would… Read more »
xG: 1.35 (ARS) to 2.28 (BAY) They were a massive threat all night on the counter and we rode our luck in the second half. Their “mid block” was super effective against our midfield and they forced a lot of turn-overs they would break against. We had some big chances too (White – dios mio – what a miss at a crucial time). The Hairy Kunt elbow was an orange – for sure I wanted a red for it, but if it was one of ours we’d only want a yellow. Otherwise I don’t see anything to blame the official… Read more »
Perhaps a good reminder that XG doesn’t always get it right when quantifying the quality of scoring opportunities. Saka’s goal, White’s chance, Trossard’s goal — all three are from incredible spots. Considering White’s skills on the ball, you’d have expected much more from his chance. Factor in Saka’s one-on-one with the keeper, and I find 1.35 very wide of the mark. We didn’t make the most of our chances, we were not at our professional best, but I don’t think we rode our luck or were outcoached at all. Far from it. But I agree with you that 2-2 is… Read more »
I agree xG isn’t everything, but it’s a good indicator and has more weight than just shots on target (which you used to justify that we were the better team). We agree it’s a fair result on the game, and we got work and adjustments to make. And I think we can do it! Tough ask in Munich, but I have faith in this team and coach. But it’s still ok to discuss errors and tactics, right?
Context is crucial. I specified the spot from which the shots were taken and the fact that Saka had only the keeper between him and the goal. Those two goals and two missed opportunities are high quality scoring opportunities.
And yeah, of course discussion of errors and tactics is ok, but just try to be more right about it. 😉
I had put a smiley face with my comment to indicate a bit of cheekiness — sorry it didn’t come through!
Neuer moved forward and dangled his right leg, making contact with Saka inevitable. Here’s video of it: https://www.instagram.com/reel/C5jhoMESpXX/?igsh=emloMWx5dTdmdjRr
If anything, Saka tried too hard to move leftwards that he had to move his right foot up and wide as he’s changing direction in full speed. If he’s less of an honest player, he wouldn’t even need to raise his right foot. Just go straight and make the clash with Neuer. That’s why Saka was absolutely livid in my opinion.
I mean that shows it clear as day. That’s not a natural movement, if he was thinking shot and goal, he would have driven left and pivoted to move his right foot to the left in order to position himself for a left foot shot. Instead he hangs his right leg out to make contact with Neuer. No pen. Ref saw it that way, VAR saw it that way and if you’re being honest you know he’s making the most of that situation to buy a pen instead of trying to score with a shot.
I’ll add the thing is if he didn’t make that excessive kick out movement, Neuer maybe (probably?) brings him down anyway. Then we’d have had a good case, but his movement makes the contact and it kills both chances (moving to shoot and potentially getting fouled anyway). Lesson to Bak should be play the ball, don’t play for the foul.
That excessive movement was precisely because he wanted to pivot and break hard left. It’s a natural movement in trying to do so.
Our Inexperience Really show
of our starting line up, only jorginho and havertz had ever played in the champions league prior to this season. it’s literally inexperienced young boys having their first taste of elite football, and being toe to toe against everyone in several competitions at once. as frustrating as it is to be masters of our own demise, only a fool would expect us not to commit any mistakes. there’s no doubt in my mind we’re eventually gonna win it with this team, let’s just be patient about it and allow them to learn how to handle their nerves.
Hmm, I think we were lucky Gabriel picking up the ball was not a penalty, the Saka incident was not a penalty for me, he should have stayed in his feet and taken a shot. However Harry Kane should have been sent off, that was as deliberate an elbow as you will ever see!
Spot on with everything you’ve said Bill