A few minutes before kick-off, Vincent Kompany stressed how detailed and meticulous he and his coaching team had been working towards this crunch match. "We've been living for this game all week," said the FC Bayern head coach. Nothing, absolutely nothing was to be left to chance in this clash between the two current best teams in Europe. Kompany had come away with a crucial insight into how this clash between the heavyweights would most likely be decided: by the smallest details.
Crucial factor: small details
You could already guess what those details might be. All it took was a glance at the stats: Arsenal had already scored nine goals this season from set pieces. At the same time, FC Bayern had most recently conceded 11 goals from corner kicks. Five of the eight goals conceded in the Bundesliga alone came from set pieces. So, in a pulsating stadium in north London, the Munich side could only do their best to prevent exactly that: dead ball situations - no matter how loudly the crowd demanded them with chants of "Set piece, olé, olé".
The opposite actually happened: first free-kick deep in Bayern's half on four minutes. First long throw-in on six minutes. Then Arsenal's first corner kick after 22 minutes, with Jurrien Timber's header making it 1-0. It's safe to assume that the bump verging on a foul on Bayern keeper Manuel Neuer as the ball sailed into the box had also probably been rehearsed a thousand times. However, it was just not enough to persuade referee Marco Guida to blow his whistle, and so the hosts were able to celebrate the important opener.
Momentum now firmly behind Arsenal
With this powerful momentum behind them, Arsenal now had no intention of retreating and letting Bayern's notorious pressing constrict them. On the contrary, Arsenal were bold, strong and aggressive, repeatedly harrying their visitors on the wings in thrilling one-on-one battles, putting FC Bayern under pressure all over the pitch as if they were in a giant pressure cooker. "The energy and quality we showed was impressive," said a delighted Mikel Arteta, the Arsenal head coach.
The hosts also repeatedly forced their opponents from the centre to the flanks in order to then bridge the spaces in the now open central areas with lightning-fast transitioning and deep passes. This visibly affected FC Bayern, especially in terms of their self-perception in recent weeks. Under this high pressure, as well as missing Luis Díaz, who was sitting out a red-card suspension, they lacked the confidence and composure that had previously led to 18 consecutive competitive matches without defeat.
Reaction to the game at Arsenal:
"We didn't go into this game with the belief that it would be their game, one we would have to defend against. No, we also wanted to play to our strengths," said Kompany. But that was difficult to do against fiercely attacking opponents, who were vociferously and ferociously egged on by their supporters. Bayern were lucky Arsenal didn't get a second after a defensive error, before a magical goal came out of nowhere at the other end: Joshua Kimmich played a forensic, seemingly endlessly long diagonal pass from the back line to Serge Gnabry, who'd made the run to the edge of the opposition's box. He first-timed the ball to Lennart Karl in the centre, who then smashed it under the crossbar.
First goal conceded after 409 minutes
The equaliser was the first goal conceded by Arsenal in the current Champions league campaign and actually the first ever one conceded after 409 minutes in the competition. For the 17-year-old Bayern talent, it also meant another entry in the history books: he's the youngest player ever to score against Arsenal in the Champions League and the youngest player ever to score on each of his first two starts in Europe's premier club competition.
The free highlights of the match at Arsenal:
"In the context of the game, however, the elation at this goal will quickly dissipate," admitted Kompany after the match. Up until the break, it seemed FC Bayern would finally get the grip on the game they'd longed for. But Harry Kane, who didn't have a single shot on target in the game, was unlucky that a failed attempt to clear the ball landed with Arsenal keeper David Raya and not with the England captain, who was already lining up to shoot.
"The first half still felt like we could win today," said Kompany. "But we didn't manage to maintain the balance we'd achieved." After the break, Arsenal stormed out of the tunnel and onto the pitch like a whirlwind, and Bayern immediately struggled to keep from being blown away. Time and again, the ball flew dangerously into the Bayern penalty area, and every time you caught yourself holding your breath. But either Neuer made a last-gasp save or the attackers' headers were too inaccurate. But it was the same story: Arsenal built up a powerful momentum through their highly dangerous set-pieces - 6:1 corners and 15:5 crosses by the end of the game - which simply took Bayern's breath away.
The game turns in the second half
When the hosts got the second goal after a catastrophic misplaced pass into the centre during build-up play, the game completely turned. Jonathan Tah summed it up with: "In the end, it came down to details as to why we didn't win the game. Little moments, especially in the second half, when the game tilted too much in their favour. That gave them the momentum and they won the game,". Another ‘little moment’ sealed the 3-1 win. Substitute Martinelli was quicker to the ball than the onrushing Neuer and, after going round the keeper, he was able to slot the ball into an empty Bayern goal.
"We didn't do the simple things we normally do really well," said an annoyed Kompany. "You have to accept it when you lose," said Gnabry, adding: "We've won all our Champions League games so far, we've had a great run like no other. We just have to carry on as before." There will be an opportunity to do just that on Saturday when FC St. Pauli are the visitors to the Allianz Arena in the Bundesliga. The FC Bayern head coach, on the other hand, had just one wish after the match: that there would be another clash with Arsenal soon. Because: "I would love to try and beat them again."
We spoke to Lukas Podolski about more than just the Arsenal game:
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