In the battle between the two best performing teams in the world this season, Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal have come out victorious. Goals from Jurrien Timber, Noni Madueke and Gabriel Martinelli were enough to seal a 3-1 win for the Gunners, with teenage sensation Lennart Karl getting the only goal for Bayern Munich.
Mikel Merino started up top with Leandro Trossard to his left, Bukayo Saka to his right and Eberechi Eze in the number 10 position in Arsenal’s 4231. Vincent Kompany’s men also lined up in a 4231 with Harry Kane up top, Serge Gnabry on the left, Michael Olise on the right and Lennart Karl in attacking midfield.
From minute 1, the UEFA Champions League match at the Emirates was an intense and competitive contest, ultimately seeing Arsenal pull away for a decisive 3-1 victory over Bayern Munich.
The home side established their attacking intent early, with William Saliba heading over from Declan Rice’s inswinging free-kick in the 5th minute. Bayern weren’t resting on their laurels though, they responded with an attempt of their own in the 21st minute, but Dayot Upamecano’s header from a looping corner went wide.
Arsenal soon capitalized on their set-piece strength, opening the scoring in the 22nd minute. Jurrien Timber scored the goal after Bukayo Saka’s corner was delivered with pace to the near post, allowing Timber to ghost free and glance his header past Manuel Neuer for Arsenal’s 10th goal from a corner this season.
Dayot Upamecano was then shown a Yellow Card in the 24th minute and Arsenal continued to put pressure on the German side. Eberechi Eze dragged a shot wide after a lovely one-two with Mikel Merino in the 29th minute and Arsenal were punished for their wastefulness at point because 3 minutes later, it was 1-1. Lennart Karl scored the goal after Joshua Kimmich sprayed a long diagonal pass to Serge Gnabry, who volleyed a cross into the path of the 17-year-old Karl, who finished first-time past David Raya.
Arsenal were forced into an early substitution in the 38th minute when Noni Madueke replaced Leandro Trossard due to an injury to Trossard. Bayern’s Konrad Laimer then received a Yellow Card just before the break in the 43rd minute. The score remained level at 1-1 after a well-contested first half.
The second half began with Arsenal exerting heavy pressure. Early in the second half, Bukayo Saka forced Manuel Neuer into a stretching save after a poor clearance fell to his right foot inside the area. Then following a Saka corner, the ball fell to Mikel Merino, whose right-footed effort screwed wide.
The battle intensified, with Neuer forced to make a superb stop to deny Declan Rice after the midfielder drove into the box. Further near misses followed, with Merino having a free header that was comfortably saved by Neuer , and Cristhian Mosquera being denied at close range by Neuer after Rice’s free-kick was allowed to bounce in the penalty area.
Manager Mikel Arteta made a decisive double substitution in the 68th minute, with Gabriel Martinelli replacing Bukayo Saka and Riccardo Calafiori replacing Myles Lewis-Skelly. This immediately paid dividends. In the 69th minute, Noni Madueke scored to put Arsenal ahead for the second time in the match. Substitute Calafiori delivered a whipped cross to the far post, which Madueke finished with a first-time effort for his first Arsenal goal in the UCL.
Bayern responded with a double substitution in the 73rd minute: Nicolas Jackson replaced Serge Gnabry and Tom Bischof replaced Konrad Laimer. Arsenal’s William Saliba was shown a Yellow Card in the 74th minute.
Arsenal sealed the victory in the 77th minute with a rapid counter-attack with Gabriel Martinelli scoring the third goal. Eberechi Eze released the substitute Martinelli on the breakaway, who expertly beat Manuel Neuer’s charging run and finished into the empty net.
The final minutes saw a flurry of substitutions and cards. Arsenal’s Mikel Merino was shown a Yellow Card for a late challenge in the 80th minute. Arsenal then made two more changes in the 80th minute, Martin Ødegaard replaced Eberechi Eze and Ben White replaced Jurriën Timber before Bayern then made a late triple change in the 81st minute, Raphael Guerreiro replaced Lennart Karl, Leon Goretzka replaced Joshua Kimmich, and Kim Min-jae replaced Dayot Upamecano.
Four minutes of added time were announced and the match soon ended with a Full Time score of Arsenal 3-1 Bayern Munich. The victory ensured Arsenal maintained their 100% Champions League record and ended Bayern’s run of 21 away games without a loss.
