Kevin Whitcher
A draw last night at the Allianz Arena was a highly creditable result, however, Arsenal lost this tie in the first leg. The two penalties in the first half at the Grove proved the key moments in this tie. Ozil’s miss and Szczesny’s red card gave the Gunners very little chance, although there was a flicker of hope in Munich as Bayern wobbled slightly at 1-1.
It was a decent enough starting eleven. The move of Oxlade-Chamberlain into central midfield at the expense of Flamini indicated the visitors’ intent. Soak up the pressure and get something on the break. Podolski was a surprise starter, with Vermaelen drafted in at left back.
The home side, at times, were highly reminiscent of Guardiola’s Barcelona in their hunger to chase down the ball and Arsenal found possession difficult, not helped by some sloppy passing when opportunity did arise. However, they defended doggedly, and rode their luck at times. 0-0 at the interval worked just fine.
Ozil was removed from the fray at half time, apparently due to an injury, with the busier Rosicky replacing him. Unfortunately, the absence of Flamini meant that the marking and concentration was not what it might have been in midfield and Schweinsteiger had the freedom of Munich to take the ball in the penalty area and open the scoring for the home side.
However, Arsenal fought back quickly, with what looked like a blatant push on Lahm by Podolski ignored by the referee, leading to a rifled equalizer. Podolski even looked at the ref after shoving Lahm, expecting a whistle. The dynamic of the game changed for a while and Arsenal, with their tails up, started to get more into the game and establish better territory. It was a spell that Bayern weathered, before gradually re-establishing their control of the game.
Gnabry for Arteta was a final throw of the dice. Arsenal had a little rally towards the end of the game, and created danger, but with two goals to score, it was a big ask, too big.
Arsenal seem to have developed a habit in recent seasons of, once the last 16 stage is reached, having a bad day in the first leg and leaving themselves too much to do to recover the tie. At least against Barcelona in 2010 and 2011, they were still in it after the first game. However, v Milan, and Bayern twice in the last three years, it has proved mission impossible in the return games. In Europe, sloppy moments and mistakes cost dear.
Even so, Arsenal were far from disgraced in Germany, and realistically, had nothing to lose. Last season’s match at the same venue provided a springboard for a very good run of results that the team need to replicate now to keep their interest in the title race alive. They will play Tottenham on Sunday, most likely facing a very different starting eleven from Spurs’ Europa League match on Thursday. So the Gunners are likely to suffer more from fatigue, and covered a lot of ground last night to prevent Bayern running riot.
A win at the Lane is not actually essential if Arsenal can find a way to defeat Chelsea and Manchester City in the fortnight following, and then win every other match, although there is a belief they could get away with a draw somewhere if you believe 85 points will be enough to win the title this season. Certainly the lack of European distraction can only help a team where some of the players are starting to show signs of running out of steam.
The bookies latest odds for the title are as follows –
Chelsea 10/11
Man City 15/8
Liverpool 13/2
Arsenal 22/1
Few believe Arsenal can win these big matches. However, there are 89 points achievable. It’s up to the players and the manager to prove that this season, things are going to be different. There are some huge games between now and the end of March, on paper everything to play for and the very real prospect of an FA Cup trophy means the season can end in glory. All that is required is for the team, having established a decent position, to deliver. They will need a couple of favours from Liverpool, but to help themselves, winning on Sunday at the Lane would be a good start.
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