Enjoy our match report and plenty of Opta data with our Arsenal vs Bayern Munich stats page following a high-quality stalemate in north London.
Arsenal and Bayern Munich played out a breathless draw that leaves this Champions League quarter-final firmly in the balance.
The visitors are, however, likely to be the happier of the two teams given they came into this game with their domestic season in disarray. The Champions League represents their only chance of silverware this season, and they will be pleased to leave London with all to play for.
At an Emirates Stadium filled only with home fans, Arsenal started the better of the two teams. Bayern tried to play their usual passing game and dominate the ball, but their build-up play was disrupted by a ferocious Arsenal press.
A huge proportion of the hosts’ play was sent through Bukayo Saka, and the England international was key in the opening exchanges. He drew a couple of early fouls from Alphonso Davies – the second of which earned the Bayern left-back a yellow card that will rule him out of the second leg – and then struck the game’s opening goal.
Saka was played into space on the right by Martin Ødegaard, but he could not escape Davies on this occasion. However, Kai Havertz was on hand to scoop up the loose ball after Davies got a toe on it, and the German found Ben White who slipped Saka into the area. With former Spurs defender Eric Dier standing off, Saka took the invitation to shoot, and curled his effort beautifully inside the far post.
The goal took Saka to eight goal involvements in eight Champions League appearances this season, with Harry Kane (10) the only player to have more. Only Thierry Henry has ever got more in a campaign for Arsenal, with 11 in 2003-04.
But the six-time European champions were undeterred, committing men forward at every opportunity they went forwards. Within six minutes of going behind, they were level, and 14 minutes later they were in front.
The equaliser came after a defensive mix-up for Arsenal when David Raya came charging off his line and then Gabriel Magalhães misplaced a pass to Jakub Kiwior. Leroy Sané, who was a menace all night down the Bayern right, fed Leon Goretzka, and he slipped a perfectly weighted through ball to Serge Gnabry to score his seventh goal away to London clubs in the Champions League (four vs Tottenham and two vs Chelsea). The Emirates was stunned into eery silence.
Then, Sané embarked on a tremendous run from his own half, first turning away from Kiwior, before storming all the way into the Bayern box, where William Saliba brought him down to concede a penalty.
Kane, so often Arsenal’s tormentor when he was at Spurs, then took his chance to haunt Arsenal once again, coolly converting from the spot to score his sixth goal at the Emirates Stadium – one more than any other visiting player has managed (Jamie Vardy and Diogo Jota – five each).
The goal meant Bayern went in 2-1 up following a first half in which the right flanks had been key for both sides.
At that point, 61.9% of Arsenal’s attacking touches had come down the right wing, but Davies had asserted some control of that situation. Although Bayern hadn’t gone down their right anywhere near as much as Arsenal, Mikel Arteta considered Sané such a threat that he withdrew Kiwior at the break, replacing him with the more experienced Oleksandr Zinchenko.
With a one-goal advantage to protect, Bayern were less keen to attack and sat on their lead for long periods in the second half. Arsenal struggled to break their opponents down and created little of note – until a flurry of substitutions changed the course of the game.
Sané, who came into the game not quite fully fit having missed Bayern’s game at the weekend, was withdrawn, much to the delight of the home faithful. Moments later, Bayern lost another huge threat as Gnabry, their other winger, was forced off with a hamstring injury that may well rule him out of the return leg.
In the time between those changes, Arsenal brought Leandro Trossard and Gabriel Jesus on for Gabriel Martinelli and Jorginho. And it was those two substitutes who would combine for Arsenal’s equaliser.
Jesus picked up the ball outside the Bayern penalty area, danced his way past three challenges, and then deftly laid the ball off for Trossard. The Belgian slotted the ball calmly past Neuer in the Bayern goal. It was the 16th goal scored by an Arsenal substitute this season; only Liverpool’s substitutes (24) have scored more of all Premier League clubs.
There were to be no more goals, but there was some more late drama as Arsenal were denied a penalty in the game’s final moments with Saka going down under Neuer’s challenge. The referee instead chose to blow the final whistle, leaving the Arsenal midfielder incandescent.
A high-quality affair ended 2-2, and the tie is perfectly poised for the return leg in Munich next week. It’s anyone’s guess who will make it through to the semi-final.
Arsenal vs Bayern Munich Stats Centre
Our live Opta match centre delivers you all the Arsenal vs Bayern Munich stats from Tuesday’s Champions League quarter-final first leg at the Emirates Stadium.
The match centre below includes team and player stats, expected goals data, passing networks, an Opta chalkboard and more. It gives you everything you need to do your own post-match analysis.
Arsenal vs Bayern Munich Post-Match Facts
- Arsenal remain without a win in the first leg of each of their last eight two-legged knockout ties in the UEFA Champions League (D1 L7) since a 2-1 win over Barcelona in the 2010-11 last 16.
- Bayern Munich’s Harry Kane has scored six goals against Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium, the most of any visiting player in all competitions since the ground opened in 2006.
- Bayern Munich have progressed from six of the eight previous occasions they have drawn an away first leg of a two-legged UEFA Champions League knockout tie, failing only against Milan in the 2006-07 quarter-final, and Liverpool in the 2018-19 last 16 – both of whom went on to win the competition in those seasons.
- This was the fourth time Arsenal have drawn at home in the first leg of a UEFA Champions League two-legged knockout tie; they were eliminated from two of the previous three (v Liverpool in 2007-08 quarter-final & Barcelona in 2009-10 quarter-final), with the other seeing them progress versus Milan in the 2007-08 last 16.
- Bukayo Saka has been directly involved in eight goals in the UEFA Champions League this season (4 goals, 4 assists); only Thierry Henry (10 in 2002-03 & 11 in 2003-04) has had a hand in more in a single campaign for Arsenal in the competition.
- Arsenal’s 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. The Belgian also became only the fourth player in UEFA Champions League history to score in each of his first four home appearances in the competition, after Alessandro Del Piero, Frederic Kanoute, and Oscar.
- Only Karim Benzema (11) has scored more away goals against English clubs in the UEFA Champions League than former Arsenal forward Serge Gnabry, who has seven such goals for Bayern Munich (4 v Tottenham, 2 v Chelsea, 1 v Arsenal).
- Eight of Bayern Munich striker Harry Kane’s 15 goals against Arsenal in all competitions have been penalties; indeed, this is the most penalties any player has scored against a single Premier League club since the start of 2014-15.
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