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Arsenal required a strong performance and positive result against a European powerhouse, but the team surrendered their 2-0 advantage and the victory to Bayern Munich far too easily, plunging their Champions League defence into tricky waters.

Contrasting Fortunes from Previous Campaign

In the previous campaign, a inspiring fightback from a goal behind to a 3-2 victory over Bayern in their final group game made up for their heavy defeat to the German opponents and kickstarted their phenomenal run to the championship match. It represented a pivotal moment in their season, showing a mental toughness that propelled them to a second Champions League title. Their collapse here demonstrated they are still searching for the spirit that ensured success in May.

Fan Support in Germany

More than 400 Arsenal fans had traveled to Munich, many filing into the city's famous beer hall before the game for their pre-match meet-up. They were placed in a section of the middle tier at the Allianz Arena, but still created an atmosphere, battling against the vocal local supporters of over 15,000 that brought the noise in the lower tier.

Building on Recent Form

Daphne van Domselaar had stated her team had "showed everything we had" in their 1-1 draw with Chelsea on Saturday. They were "deeply disappointed" by the result against the league leaders, with controversial officiating receiving much criticism of those disappointments.

The goal, though, was to take the energy of that impressive second-half display to Germany with them. Arsenal had begun poorly against Chelsea. In Munich they stuck to the plan and there was no repetition of that slow start.

Strong Start for Arsenal

They opened on the front foot. The England forward was especially lively and caused problems for the Bayern defender Franziska Kett and the central player Momoko Tanikawa on the right as Arsenal's high and aggressive pressing proved effective.

It was the forward's attempt that gave Arsenal the advantage in the early stages, the striker's effort strangely pushed away by the Bayern goalkeeper, the German shot-stopper. The midfielder was there to nod the ball back over the goalkeeper and in.

Doubling the Lead

Arsenal's next score arrived in the 23rd minute. Bayern's insistence on building from defense had been risky and was exploited. Mead intercepted the defender's wayward ball and passed to the Swedish striker, who poked it towards the Spanish midfielder on the edge of the box. The mercurial midfielder took a control to create space from the defender before lashing past the goalkeeper.

Second Half Turnaround

The intensity dropped a little in the second half. José Barcala turned to his bench to try to get his team back into the game: the former Chelsea forward Danish international, whose hat-trick in October 2024 turned the match from 2-2 to 5-2, came on and Italian midfielder and Alara Sehitler arrived soon after. The last of these would cause problems first, sprinting forward and collecting from German winger before directing the ball past the Arsenal keeper.

Complete Turnaround

It was Bayern in the driving seat after the deficit was reduced, the home team believing they could take something from the game. Harder produced, floating a looping ball in from the edge of the area to level. They did not just want to take something, though: they wanted everything, and six minutes later they had the advantage, Glodis Viggosdottir turning in at the near post from Bühl's cross. This time it was a sluggish end that let down Arsenal and, with a single victory from three Champions League games, they have a big job ahead.