Arsenal will have it all to do when they travel to the Allianz Arena after Bayern Munich grabbed a 2-0 lead at the Emirates last night.
Wojciech Szczesny was sent off midway through the first half after felling Bayern winger Arjen Robben in the box. There will be plenty of debate today about whether the goalkeeper should have seen red, but a penalty was arguably the correct call, despite Robben´s overacting in the event. David Alaba sent the spot kick wide of the post to keep the score at 0-0, but the damage had been done for the rest of the game and arguably for the tie.
Arsenal had been containing Bayern well before the sending off even if that did mean letting Bayern have the lion’s share of the ball. In fact, the Gunners could have taken the lead when Jerome Boetang felled Mesut Ozil in the Bayern area, resulting in the ref pointing to the spot. Boetang was booked for his efforts but Ozil sent a woeful penalty into the welcoming arms of German stopper Manuel Neuer.
Arsene Wenger opted for the young Yaya Sanogo instead of Oliver Giroud, likely in an attempt to add more physicality and ability to hold the ball up in attack. However, Arsenal´s forays forward became increasingly rare, especially after the sending off as Bayern spent extended spells camped in the Arsenal half.
While the Bavarian side was not peppering the Gunners goal, it was the kind of slick possession football that defined Pep Guardiola´s spell as Barcelona manager. The Spanish tactician has got an already well oiled Munich team playing fantastic football that is easy on the eye but has plenty of steel too. With so much talent on the field and an extra man it quickly became a question of when Bayern would score, not if they would.
The breakthrough did not come until the 54th minute as some neat interplay down the right saw Robben find Tony Kroos on the edge of the box. The German attacker curled a delightful shot past the flailing Fabianski to give Bayern a 1-0 lead and a first vital away goal.
Despite losing a goal Arsenal showed the team´s renewed defensive strength this season and continued to mostly keep Munich at bay. However, with tired legs creeping into the side the second goal was inevitable, and it came in the 88th minute when Thomas Muller met Philipp Lahm´s cross and headed home.
So the game ended 2-0 and Arsenal have it all to do in Germany in three weeks time. However, Arsene Wenger will remember that his team claimed a 2-0 triumph in the Allianz last season while leaving the Champions League on away goals, so he will know that there is hope of an upset, however unlikely it may seem right now.