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Arsenal required a strong performance and positive result against a continental giant, but the team surrendered their 2-0 advantage and the victory to Bayern Munich with little resistance, plunging their Champions League defence into difficult waters.

Different Fortunes from Last Season

In the previous campaign, a battling comeback from 2-1 down to a 3-2 victory over Bayern in their final group game avenged their heavy defeat to the German opponents and kickstarted their phenomenal run to the championship match. It represented a turning point in their season, demonstrating a resilience that carried them to a second Champions League title. Their breakdown here showed they are yet to recapture the spirit that ensured success in May.

Travelling Supporters in Germany

Over four hundred Arsenal fans had traveled to Munich, many filing into the Hofbräuhaus before the game for their pre-match meet-up. They were placed in a corner of the upper level at the Allianz Arena, but still made their voices heard, competing with the impressive home crowd of over 15,000 that brought the noise in the stands below.

Building on Previous Performance

Daphne van Domselaar had stated her team had "showed everything we had" in their 1-1 draw with Chelsea on Saturday. They were "devastated" by the result against the league leaders, with controversial officiating bearing the brunt of those frustrations.

The aim, though, was to channel the momentum of that impressive second-half display to Germany with them. Arsenal had started slowly against Chelsea. In Munich they stuck to the plan and there was no repetition of that sluggish beginning.

Strong Start for Arsenal

They started aggressively. The England forward was particularly energetic and caused problems for the Bayern full-back their left-back and the midfielder Japanese international on the right as Arsenal's intense pressure reaped its rewards.

It was Mead's effort that gave Arsenal the advantage in the fifth minute, the England forward's shot unusually parried by the Bayern goalkeeper, Maria Luisa Grohs. The midfielder was there to nod the ball back over the goalkeeper and in.

Doubling the Advantage

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

After Break Turnaround

The intensity dropped a little in the second half. The Bayern coach turned to his bench to try to bring his side into the game: the ex-London striker Danish international, whose hat-trick in October 2024 turned the match from 2-2 to 5-2, entered and Italian midfielder and Alara Sehitler arrived soon after. The last of these would make Arsenal sweat first, flying away on the break and receiving from German winger before guiding the ball past the Arsenal keeper.

Total Comeback

It was Bayern in the driving seat after the gap narrowed, the hosts believing they could get a result from the game. Harder produced, floating a looping ball in from the edge of the area to equalize. They did not just want to draw, though: they wanted it all, and six minutes later they had the lead, Glodis Viggosdottir scoring at the near post from Bühl's cross. This time it was a sluggish end that disappointed Arsenal and, with a single victory from their European matches, they have a big job ahead.