Bukayo Saka was denied a last minute penalty as Arsenal’s Champions League quarter-final ended in a 2-2 draw with Bayern Munich.
Arsenal took the lead through Saka before Bayern responded, first through Serge Gnabry and then Harry Kane to lead at half-time, but Leandro Trossard equalised for Mikel Arteta’s side to send the tie to Germany next week finely poised.
Here are five key battles throughout the game…
Arteta vs Tuchel
Whilst Arteta’s heavy press worked out in the opening 15 minutes and exposed Bayern’s defensive fragility, a total lapse in concentration allowed the visitors to draw level on the counter-attack. Throughout the first half Tuchel’s side were able to expose Arsenal’s high line with Sane at the heart of it, with the German outfit ending the first half in front. Arteta reacted by bringing on Oleksandr Zinchenko at half-time and then Gabriel Jesus for Jorginho with 25 minutes remaining. The changes were inspired, with Jesus teeing up fellow substitute Leandro Trossard to equalise.
Kane vs Saliba
Having kept Harry Kane quiet for most of the first half, William Saliba undid all of Arsenal’s hard work as he brought down Leroy Sane after the German’s sensational run into the Gunners box. Kane continued his scoring streak against Arteta’s men by slotting home the resulting penalty. Kane remained at the forefront of all things positive in Bayern’s attack, however the longer Arsenal’s dominance in the match continued, the more Saliba’s confidence returned.
Saka vs Davies
After being on the offensive for the opening exchanges, Davies paid the price for two rash challenges on Saka within the first nine minutes, earning himself a yellow card. It now means the Bayern defender will miss the second leg. However, only three minutes later Saka would fire Arsenal in front with a fine strike into the bottom corner. Despite turning the 1-0 deficit around, Saka’s link-up play with Ben White exposed Davies’ weakness of 1v1 defending, with that initial build up leading to Arsenal’s equaliser. The 21-year-old was then denied a 95th minute penalty after being taken out by Bayern goalkeeper Manuel Neuer.
Odegaard vs Musiala
Martin Odegaard was orchestrating most of Arsenal’s attacks in the opening period of the match, with Bayern unable to contain his movement off the ball. Musiala was key in the build up to the visitor’s equaliser, but was largely managed well by Jorginho. In the second half, it was more of the same, as Arsenal continued to dominate the match. Even when Jorginho was brought off, Musiala cut a lonely figure as the hosts’ dominance denied him any time with the ball, failing to impact the game to the level his counterpart Odegaard did.
Raya vs Neuer
Arsenal rarely troubled Manuel Neuer after they opened the scoring, but the German legend was instrumental when called upon. The 38-year-old was strong when Ben White was played into a one on one situation. David Raya was rash with his approach towards the onrushing Serge Gnabry for Bayern’s equaliser, and was powerless to deny Harry Kane from the penalty spot. Neuer was also powerless to halt Trossard’s leveller midway through the second half before getting away with bringing Saka down in the 95th minute. Raya was rarely tested by the Germans.
