Bayern Munich 0 Arsenal 2 (agg 3-3): Arsene's mission proves impossible as brave Gunners are sent packing despite win
By MARTIN SAMUEL
Arsenal did not make it into the quarter-finals of the Champions League. In other news, the Pope is, indeed, a Catholic and a bear disappeared into the wood and, well, you know the rest.
That is far from the whole story, though. For as predictable as the outcome was, so the manner of Arsenal’s exit was valiant.
A second goal, scored by Laurent Koscielny with five minutes remaining, meant a team that had been all but written off by every good judge and a fair few bad ones took Bayern Munich closer to the wire than could reasonably have been expected.
The aggregate score for the tie was level. Munich progress only on the third away goal they scored at the Emirates Stadium. Arsenal, for the second consecutive season, left themselves just too much to do.
Scroll down for Graham Chadwick's video from the Allianz Arena
No cigar: Laurent Koscielny scored late to set up a tense finish but Arsenal could not net again
Fracas: Goalkeeper Manuel Neuer tries to hold onto the ball to buy some time for Bayern
Game on: Olivier Giroud scored early in the match to put pressure on the German hosts
MATCH FACTS
Bayern Munich: Neuer, Dante, Van Buyten, Lahm, Martinez, Muller, Alaba, Luis Gustavo, Kroos (Tymoschuk 81), Mandzukic (Gomez 73), Robben
Subs not used: Tom Starke, Rafinha, Contento, Shaqiri, Pizarro
Booked: Lahm, Martinez, Gomez
Arsenal: Fabianski, Mertesacker, Koscielny, Jenkinson, Gibbs, Rosicky, Arteta, Walcott (Oxlade-Chamberlain 72), Ramsey (Gervinho 72), Cazorla, Giroud
Subs not used: Mannone, Vermaelen, Diaby, Coquelin, Arshavin
Booked: Gibbs, Rosicky, Giroud, Mertesacker, Cazorla, Koscielny
Goals: Giroud 3, Koscielny 86
Referee: Pavel Kralovec
Attendance: 66,000
It was a 4-0 defeat against AC Milan that did for them a year ago, before a 3-0 home win in the return leg made for a grandstand finish, and it was the first 90 minutes that gave this encounter to Munich. The Germans deserved to reach the last eight for their 3-1 win in north London which was the truly outstanding performance of the two legs. Arsenal were resilient here, but unexceptional going forward.
What could not be expected was that Munich would be so insipid.
Credit Arsenal for containing them but that still does not explain an almost total absence of ideas in front of goal, lame pot-shot following lame pot-shot, with second-string goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski rarely troubled in any real sense.
After the first game Munich were being tipped as European champions but the gulf between this performance and that of Barcelona against AC Milan the previous night was spectacular.
Munich spent the last five minutes plus injury time running the ball into the corner. Barcelona did not do that, not once, faced with a game every bit as delicately and dangerously poised. Some have said Pep Guardiola is taking no chances going to a club that is walking the Bundesliga and already established among the best in Europe, but this display showed there is work to be done, and plenty of it.
Off colour: Arjen Robben (left) cuts a frustrated figure as Thomas Muller (right) looks relieved after the whistle
Overjoyed: Giroud (right) celebrates the dream start as Aaron Ramsey (left) carries the ball back up the pitch
Booked: Thomas Rosicky looks dejected after a heavy tackle on Arjen Robben
Sliding in: Javi Martinez (right) tries to nick the ball away from Mikel Arteta
This was a very creditable performance from Arsenal’s perspective and represents Bayern Munich’s first defeat at home in this competition in 15 games and almost three years. The 2012 Champions League final was, technically, a neutral venue, and a draw, being decided on penalties. But it was still not enough. Munich have never lost a home Champions League tie by the margin Arsenal needed to go through and until the late second was scored seemed entirely untroubled by losing to win.
Arsenal made the Germans look ordinary, and they made the home fans very tense by the end, but to reach the three-goal lead they required to provide English football with a presence in the last eight was simply too much.
Gervinho came closest to making the difference, turning in the six-yard box with 12 minutes left as the locals gasped, but his finish trickled wide.
Piling in: Neuer holds onto the ball to waste a little time after Koscielny netted the second
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE QUARTER-FINALISTS
Barcelona
Bayern Munich
Borussia Dortmund
Galatasaray
Juventus
Malaga
Paris Saint-Germain
Real Madrid
The draw will take place on Friday
For all Arsenal’s claim to high ideals the second was that English staple, the well-worked dead ball. Santi Cazorla swung it in from a corner and Koscielny rose above his man to score. A melee ensued as Arsenal attempted to recycle the ball with an urgency not shared by Manuel Neuer, Munich’s goalkeeper, but they did not threaten again.
So if this was the impossible dream, what Arsenal did confirm is that there is resilience in this group that may yet spring a surprise in the domestic league. Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea will not have felt entirely comfortable watching Arsenal’s resistance here.
Munich had chances, not least when Arjen Robben burst through on 62 minutes and forced a fine save from Fabianski, but nothing to justify their reputation. They were a wet lettuce leaf compared to Barcelona’s vibrancy and had obviously been told Arsenal’s goalkeeper was a weak link. Only this could explain the number of shots that were taken from range, mostly by Robben and Toni Kroos.
Frustrated: Mario Mandzukic shows his disappointment at a refereeing decision
Remonstrating: Arsene Wenge rages at the fourth official
Seething: Wenger screams from the touchline after another decision
Arsenal looked untroubled for long periods as the home fans grew more frustrated. Tottenham gave Arsenal considerably more trouble than Bayern — Swansea City probably will on Saturday, too.
The big miss, naturally, was Jack Wilshere. With his wit in midfield, Arsenal might have given Bayern the shock of their lives. As it was, after an early goal, the Germans probably realised an upset was unlikely unless they took silly chances and almost settled for stumbling into the next round — until that late scare.
The bottom line remains that Arsenal lost this tie at home last month. This restored credibility and pride but it would be wrong to get carried away. Munich could afford to lose this match. It may have been closer than anyone imagined but it may also have been very different with more at stake.
Digging deep: Luis Gustavo (right) tries to dispossess Santi Cazorla in the middle of the park
Big shout: Thomas Muller screams at the referee's assistant during the first half of the tie
Rough and tumble: Arjen Robben is sent flying as Kieran Gibbs slides in
As it was, Munich seemed undecided on a game-plan and were a little taken aback that Arsenal were up for a game, and scored within three minutes. Olivier Giroud’s goal would not have shifted the betting market greatly, but it did wonders for Arsenal’s pride and Munich struggled from there.
The much-maligned Aaron Ramsey was the architect with a long carry through the heart of midfield, before feeding Theo Walcott wide on the right. His crossing is often criticised, too, but this was a beauty, taking full advantage of a loss of footing in the Munich defence to pick out Giroud who finished into an empty net, with Neuer drawn out of position by the fall.
Anxious? Bayern manager Jupp Heynckes (left) and suspended midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger (right)
Face in the crowd: Former Bayern midfielder Owen Hargreaves was in the audience at the Allianz
Staying upright on the pitch at the Allianz Arena was a challenge for a fair few, whether the fault of over-watering or the earlier snow freezing in sub-zero temperatures. Carl Jenkinson, in particular, was doing a passable Bambi on ice impression before settling into a solid game.
At one time he sprinted back to remove the ball from Robben with ease. Now there is an unlikely sentence for those who remember the player from three years ago.
The travelling support celebrated at the end and there will be much talk of bravery and honour restored.
When the euphoria subsides, however, the truth is another year without a trophy and a bitter fight to pass this way again next year. If this is a highlight, however unexpected, it is not a good season.
MATCH ZONE by Matt Barlow
On-song Gibbs is a boost for Roy
This was a first game back for Kieran Gibbs in six weeks and a big test against Thomas Muller and Philipp Lahm, prince of the overlapping full backs. This is where the Germans caused much of their damage in the first leg and Roy Hodgson will have been pleased to see Gibbs stand up well to the challenge. As did Carl Jenkinson, who produced one excellent piece of defending in a first-half pursuit of Arjen Robben.
This was a first game back for Kieran Gibbs in six weeks and a big test against Thomas Muller and Philipp Lahm, prince of the overlapping full backs. This is where the Germans caused much of their damage in the first leg and Roy Hodgson will have been pleased to see Gibbs stand up well to the challenge. As did Carl Jenkinson, who produced one excellent piece of defending in a first-half pursuit of Arjen Robben.
Goals cool the bear pit
There was an air of celebration inside the Allianz Arena before kick-off. There was a cardboard cut-out of the European Cup covered in tinfoil — despite an eloquent eve-of-game warning from boss Jupp Heynckes, who said: ‘I have no interest in dividing up the skin before I kill the bear.’ Olivier Giroud’s early goal flattened the mood and it was a pit of anxiety once Laurent Koscielny made it 2-0.
There was an air of celebration inside the Allianz Arena before kick-off. There was a cardboard cut-out of the European Cup covered in tinfoil — despite an eloquent eve-of-game warning from boss Jupp Heynckes, who said: ‘I have no interest in dividing up the skin before I kill the bear.’ Olivier Giroud’s early goal flattened the mood and it was a pit of anxiety once Laurent Koscielny made it 2-0.
Historic failure
The last time England failed to provide a team for the last eight of the Champions League was in 1996, before the era of multiple entries. The previous season’s English champions Blackburn Rovers were the nation’s only representatives. Rovers flopped, finishing bottom of a group featuring Spartak Moscow and Legia Warsaw, who both made it into the quarter-finals.
The last time England failed to provide a team for the last eight of the Champions League was in 1996, before the era of multiple entries. The previous season’s English champions Blackburn Rovers were the nation’s only representatives. Rovers flopped, finishing bottom of a group featuring Spartak Moscow and Legia Warsaw, who both made it into the quarter-finals.
Malaga Cruz into quarter-finals
Roque Santa Cruz scored the crucial goal as Malaga beat Porto 2-0 to become the third Spanish club to reach the quarter-finals of the Champions League. Porto led 1-0 from the first leg, but Malaga’s 20-year-old forward Isco Alarcon brought the game level in the 43rd minute, beating goalkeeper Helton with a curling shot into the top corner. On-loan Santa Cruz, still on Manchester City’s books, got the decisive second when he rose to head a corner in at the far post in the 77th minute.
Roque Santa Cruz scored the crucial goal as Malaga beat Porto 2-0 to become the third Spanish club to reach the quarter-finals of the Champions League. Porto led 1-0 from the first leg, but Malaga’s 20-year-old forward Isco Alarcon brought the game level in the 43rd minute, beating goalkeeper Helton with a curling shot into the top corner. On-loan Santa Cruz, still on Manchester City’s books, got the decisive second when he rose to head a corner in at the far post in the 77th minute.
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