And last word on that penalty shout goes to the Arsenal manager: “They said they checked it and decided it was not a penalty,” he says, not sounding entirely convinced.
Mikel Arteta: “The game had different moments,” he tells TNT. “We started really well, we were dominant, didn’t concede anything. We scored a really good goal and after that is the moment of the game when Ben [White] is in front of [Manuel] Neuer and if it was 2-0 it would have been a very different game.
“They scored and it created some uncertainty, the second goal was unusual for us to concede but it is the Champions League, you make a mistake and get punished. We allowed them the spaces to run and they were very dangerous but even at 2-1 we tried to make a rhythm, we were composed and didn’t try to rush things and the changes had an impact on the game.”
That late Saka penalty shout III: Having seen several replays, I think it was an excellent decision by the referee. Neuer ran to the edge of his area as Saka approached with the ball at his feet.
With a touch of his left foot, Saka touched the ball to the goalkeeper’s left, before kicking out with his right to ensure heavy contact was made with his left leg and Neuer’s right. I think it was the correct call but wouldn’t have been even remotely surprised if it had been given. Gooners are wlecome to disagree but it was nowhere near the stone-waller that the penalty awarded to Bayern was.
Arsenal’s late penalty shout II: “Nice objective reporting, claiming only one-eyed Arsenal fans could deny Bayern’s penalty but Saka was looking for it?” writes Nick Archard. “Bayern’s was definitely a penalty and Arsenal’s at the end was even more so. Why would Saka give up rolling the ball into the empty net? Did you see Neuer’s expression afterwards?!”
Eh, whether or not Saka was looking for a penalty is entirely irrelevant to the legitimacy of his claim. Either he was fouled or he wasn’t – whether or not he was “looking for it” is completely irrelevant.
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Arsenal’s late penalty shout: “I don’t really see why Arteta should be aggrieved,” writes Colin Livingstone. “If Saka went any further out of his way to kick the goalie, he’d have needed to take a taxi.”
Harry Kane: Having praised the quality of Arsenal and the quality of Gabriel Jesus’s “chop” inside the box, Kane says “obviously we’re never happy not to win but it’s a good point away from home.”
Yes, yes … it’s a two-legged eliminator but you know what he means.
“I think we’ve seen over the past couple of years, probably during my last season at Tottenham they were really strong,” he tells TNT, when asked to compare this incarnation of Arsenal to previous ones he has faced.
“They’re having a good go at trying to win the league and they’re a really good team. We changed our plan a little bit today in terms of how we defended without the ball bec ause they keep the ball well and find the spaces but of course we know they’re a top team.”
Match report: Arsenal 2-2 Bayern Munich
Champions League: Serge Gnabry and a Harry Kane penalty had overturned Bukayo Saka’s early strike but substitutes Gabriel Jesus and Leandro Trossard combined to restore parity for Arsenal ahead of next week’s second leg. Nick Ames reports from the Emirates …
Leandro Trossard: On the pitch it looked like a penalty to me,” he tells TNT, upon being asked about that late incident. “I haven’t seen a replay but for me it looked like there was clear contact but I have to wait until after to see it again, obviously.”
Are you pleased with that result: “I think not pleased but when you’re 2-1 down at half-time you take the draw at the end. I think we started so well in the first half, the first 15 or 20 minutes were so good, we could have scored two or three. At the end of the day it’s a draw and we take it and we have to finish it off.”
Post-match shenanigans: Mikel Arteta was quickly on to the pitch to complain about Arsenal being denied a late penalty but he can argue all he likes, they’re not going to get one now. I think he is entitled to feel aggrieved but his side have come from behind to earn a decent draw and have every chance of beating Bayern Munich in Germany next week.
Full time: Arsenal 2-2 Bayern Munich
Peep! Peep! Peeeeeeeeeeep! The ref draws proceedings to a close with Saka still on the deck in the Bayern penalty area. He and Neuer were each running toewards a through ball, Saka got to it first but sort of thrust his leg towards Neuer to ensure contact.
I think if he’d just let the laws of physics and momentum take their course, he would have got a penalty. The fact he was clearly looking for one might have influenced the referee’s decision-making.
90+6 min: Now Saka goes down in the Bayern box after colliding with Manuel Neuer, who had come out to collect a through ball. There’s a massive appeal for a penalty but the ref waves play on.
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90+5 min: Odegaard goes down outside the Bayern box under a challenge from Davies and appeals for a free-kick. None is given.
90+4 min: Trossard swings his boot at a bouncing ball near the middle of the pitch and sends it high in the air, bouncing towards Neuer, who gathers.
90+3 min: A poor touch from Trossard sends the ball out of play for a Bayern throw-in.
90+2 min: We’re into five recommended minutes of added time and Bayern are dominating these late, late stages, possibly smelling blood.
90 min: Kingsley Coman sticks out a foot to stab a Musiala pull-back from the byline on to the foot of the near post from what looked an impossibly tight angle. It’s a late let-off for Arsenal!
89 min: Partey is booked for Fernandinho-ing Musiala as the Bayern man attempted to gallop upfield on the break.
87 min: Bayern win a free-kick in a decent position wide(ish) on the left. Guerreiro floats the ball towards the far post and it ends up drifting out for a throw-in. There’s a brief break in play as Zinchenko goes down after a clash of heads.
85 min: Arsenal substitution: Thomas Partey on for Kai Havertz, who has struggled to make an impact on tonight’s game.
84 min: Saka sends an extremely inviting cross drifting across the face of the Bayern Munich goal but there’s nobody there to nod it home.
83 min: Bayern Munich are showing no signs that they’re happy to sit back and defend this scoreline, which they’ll surely be happy with ahead of the second leg at the Allianz Arena. They’re going after a third goal!
81 min: Musiala pings the ball inside to Coman, whose scuffed shot from distance is gobbled up by David Raya.
78 min: That was straight out of the top drawer by Gabriel Jesus, who showed incredible skill in a very tight and crowded space on the edge of the Bayern penalty area to dance past De Ligt and then Goretska before squaring the ball for Trossard, whose task was fairly straightforward.
GOPAL! Arsenal 2-2 Bayern Munich (Trossard 76)
Arsenal are level! Brilliant feet from Gabriel Jesus, who dances into the Bayern penalty area, sits De Ligt on his backside with a soft-shoe shuffle and squares the ball for his fellow substitute. Trossard makes no mistake, burying a low drive from about 12 yards out.
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75 min: Arsenal win a throw-in deep in Bayern territory and Ben White retrieves the ball from the foot of the advertising hoarding. It’s worked inside to Zinchenko and then back out towards the touchline, where Bayern win the throw-in.
73 min: Eric Dier goes down holding his face after a coming-together with Gabriel Jesus and the Arsenal crowd respond as sympathetically as you might expect to the former Tottenham player’s plight. He’s fine.
71 min: Leroy Sane was playing a blinder for Bayern but there is a suggestion he was taken off because he was suffering from some sort of niggle. Thomas Tuchel had enquired after his welfare from the touchline a few minutes before withdrawing him and sending on Coman, who has barely played at all in the past few months.
69 min: There’s a break in play while Serge Gnabry receives treatment for an injury. He has to go off and is replaced by Raphael Guerreiro, a more defensive player.
68 min: Harry Kane, who I think is maybe a little lucky to still be on the pitch, has a shot on goal deflected wide off Declan Rice.
66 min: Bayern Munich substitution: Kingsley Coman on for Leroy Sane. Arsenal double-substitution: Gabriel Jesus and Leandro Trossard on for Jorginho and Martinelli.
64 min: Havertz goes down in the Bayern box and appeals for a penalty. He doesn’t get one and replays show he was chancing his arm.
62 min: Laimer tries a shot from distance but doesn’t trouble David Raya in the Arsenal goal.
61 min: Kane picks out Sane with a wonderful ball out wide and the Bayern winger cuts inside into the Arsenal penalty area. He’s dispossessed by Saliba and Arsenal clear their lines.
60 min: Arsenal waste the free-kick and the ball ends up in the gloves of Neuer.
59 min: Letting the ball run past him, Saka cleverly draws a foul from Konrad Laimer and Arsenal win a free-kick in a dangerous area.
58 min: Goretzka picks up a ball inside from Gnabry and shoots from the edge of the Arsenal penalty area. Wide.
55 min: Harry Kane gets booked for catching Gabriel with a firm right-elbow into the chops as he reversed into the Arsenal defender with his back to goal and the ball approaching the duo. I’ll tell you what, that looked naughty from Harry and possibly worthy of more than a yellow card.
54 min: Joshua Kimmich steps in to intercept a Havertz ball towards Martinelli on the left flank with his head. Routine but important defending.
52 min: Zinchenko is seeing plenty of the ball since his introduction. He takes a throw-in, receives the ball back, plays it inside, gets it back again and then sends it skidding wide with an overhit delivery down the inside left.
51 min: From the left touchline, Rice overhits his free-kick and sends the ball harmlessly over the bar.
50 min: Goretska breaks up another Arsenal attack but Sane immediately gives the ball away. Sane is penalised for an accidental clip on the heels of Declan Rice out on the left wing. Free-kick for Arsenal.
47 min: Arsenal play the ball from side to side in the middle third before Jorginho pings it wide to Ben White. Havertz sends a cross towards Martinelli at the far post, where Leon Goretska cuts out the danger. Belatedly, the flag goes up for offside but that was excellent play from the experienced Bayern midfielder who, dare I say it, has kept Declan Rice firmly under wraps this evening.
Second half: Arsenal 1-2 Bayern Munich
46 min: Arsenal restart the game, having made one change. Oleksandr Zinchenko is on for Jakub Kiwior. I did mention before kick-off that I thought the Ukrainian was very unlucky to be left out, which clearly demonstrates that I would make a better football manager than Mikel Arteta.
Bayern’s second: “Raya dived a good second before Kane even kicked the ball,” observes Crispin in LA. “I don’t understand why more keepers don’t just stand their ground at penalty kicks. They would save all the shots down the middle and likely the poorly struck placed ones. And they would defy and confuse the takers who wait for keeper to commit.”
Well, I mean standing youir ground occasionally is OK, but if you do it all the time, penalty-takers from opposition teams will soon twig what you’re up to and never hit the ball down the middle. I also reckon that goalkeepers think not diving and conceding makes them look lazy, whereas diving and conceding at least demonstrates some effort on their part.
Half-time: Arsenal 1-2 Bayern Munich
Peep: An entertaining half of football draws to a close with Arsenal trailing by the odd goal in three. They started brightly and went ahead through a fine strike from Bukayo Saka, before gifting two goals to Bayern courtesy of defensive blunders.
Serge Gnabry rounded off a fine counter-attack for the Bavarian side to draw them level, before Harry Kane converted from the spot after William Saliba had brought down Leroy Sane. Only the most one-eyed of Gooners will argue that it was anything other than a penalty.
44 min: Arsenal keep control of the ball, passing it around in the middle third of the pitch. One of those passes is mishit and Bayern win a throw-in.
42 min: Odegaard wins a throw-in deep in Bayern territory and moments after it’s taken wins another corner for his team. Saka sends the ball into the mixer and referee Glenn Nyberg blows for an infringement on some Bayern player or other, probably Neuer, who was flapping haplessly.
39 min: Kane goes down under a challenge from Martinelli and is booed by the locals. The Arsenal winger avoids a booking, which seems odd considering Alphonso Davies got one for a near identical challenge on Saka earlier in the half.
37 min: That particular Bayern counter-attack came about on the back of a weak header from White that gifted possession to Sane. Between them, Arsenal’s defenders are making a lot of mistakes tonight and most of them have been unforced.
36 min: Bayern attack on the break again and Sane shows their defenders a clean pair of heels as he advances upfield. Ben White performs heroics to get back and prevent him getting a shot off.
35 min: Saka and Odegaard combine down the right and the Arsenal captain has a shot on goal blocked by Matthijs De Ligt.
33 pen: That’s not the kind of penalty-kick you associate with Kane, who normally goes for power. It was unquestionably a spot-kick despite the complaints of Saliba, who clearly tripped Sane as he waltzed into the Arsenal penalty area from the left.
GOAL! Arsenal 1-2 Bayern Munich (Kane 32pen)
Kane scores! He rolls the ball into the bottom right-hand corner sending Raya the wrong way and Bayern Munich lead at the Emirates.
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Penalty for Bayern!
William Saliba brings down Leroy Sane in the Arsenal box and it’s a stonewall penalty for Bayern Munich. Over to you, Harry.
29 min: Saliba sells Odegaard short with a poor pass near the halfway line and Gnabry pounces. Arsenal get away with another defensive error, this time made by their other defensive linchpin.
27 min: Saka sends the ball towards the near post, there’s a mini-scramble in the six-yard box and a panicked Manuel Neuer eventually claims possession.
26 min: Saka runs on to a ball from deep and Gnabry sticks a boot out to put it out for a corner, Arsenal’s first of the game.
23 min: Replays suggest that was a very slopppy and quite avoidable goal for Arsenal to concede but the ruthlessness of Bayern on the counter after pouncing on their error should also be commended.
21 min: That equaliser stemmed from an uncharacteristically poor pass from Gabriel to Jakub Kiwior, which Sane intercepted on the halfway line. He sent Goretska on his way and it was he, not Kane, who slipped Gnabry in on goal.
GOAL! Arsenal 1-1 Bayern Munich (Gnabry 18)
Bayern equalise! Leroy Sane, Kane and Serge Gnabry combine to carve open Arsenal down the middle. The former Arsenal player runs on to a perfectly weighted pass to fire home from just inside the penalty area. David Raya got something on the ball but couldn’t keep it out.
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16 min: Chance! Ben White is wreaking havoc for Arsenal and on this occasion, he runs on to a perfectly weighted short pass through the centre from Havertz and shoots straight at Manuel Neuer when he had the entire Bayern goal to aim at.
15 min: Just before that goal went in, I was abnout to write that Davies v Saka was shaping up to be one of tonight’s key battles. It’s one Saka is winning hands down at the moment.
14 min: It was a wonderful finish from Saka, who let a wonderfully weighted pass inside from Ben White run across his body before placing an inch-perfect, curled finish into the far corner.
GOAL! Arsenal 1-0 Bayern Munich (Saka 12)
Arsenal lead! Saka cuts inside and fires the hosts into the lead with a low curled effort into the bottom corner.
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11 min: Over 10 minutes in and Arsenal already have the upper hand, much as you’d expect. They advance upfield again with Odegaard on the ball.
9 min: Dier hoofs the ball long under pressure and Arsenal win the it again. Alphonso Davies tackles Buklayo Saka when the ball’s played his way and picks up a booking that will rule him out of the second leg. That’s a pretty soft booking and there was no real need for it this early in the game.
7 min: Saka intercepts the ball on the right flank as Bayern try to play it out from the back and it’s worked inside to Martinelli. He shoots from distance and his effort fizzes wide of the upright. A decent effort.
6 min: Eric Dier plays a routine backpass to Manuel Neuer from outside his own penalty area and is loudly booed by a home crowd he had already delighted with his overhit free-kick a few minutes ago.
4 min: Jamal Musiala gets on the ball for Bayern down near the corner flag and plays it inside but his side is forced backwards.
3 min: Arsenal enjoy some time on the ball before playing a long diagonal from the back towards it forward towards Bukayo Saka. That delivery is also overhit and the ball sails out of play for a Bayern throw-in. Some early nerves as assorted players find their bearings.
2 min: Leroy Sane sends a cross from the right into the Arsenal penalty area and Gabriel heads it up in the air on the edge of his six-yard box. It’s quickly cleared.
Arsenal v Bayern Munich is go ...
1 min: Bayern Munich get the ball rolling at the Emirates, their players wearing navy blue shirts, shorts and socks with purple trim. They quicklly win a free-kick just inside their own half and it’s hit way too hard by Eric Dier. The ball bounces wide for an Arsenal goal-kick.
Not long now: Referee Glenn Nyberg and his team of Swedish match officials lead the sides out, where they are greeted by a capacity crowd comprised entirely of nervous, excited Gooners.
They line up for the Champions League anthem and kick-off is just a few pre-match handshakes, an exchange of club pennants and a coin-toss away. Martin Odegaard and Manuel Neuer are tonight’s skippers, taking part in the very last of the pre-match formalities.
Arsenal: Mikel Arteta has said his side has the belief they can “create their own history” against Bayern Munich as they prepare for their first appearance in a Champions League quarter-final for 14 years. Ed Aarons reports …
Arsenal: The German champions will find the mood at the Emirates in stark contrast to that for their last Champions League visit in 2017, writes Nick Ames.
Thomas Tuchel: “Arsenal are currently the best team in the Premier League and that is deserved, all the data shows that,” said the Bayern boss. “They are in great form and have been at the highest level for the last two seasons so it’s a massive test for us.
“It’s the second year for them where they’re playing at this really high level, they have so much energy on the pitch and they can keep it for a long time.
“We know about our own strengths and how we want to cause them pain. We know the Champions League is a competition where we have more experience over the last few years. We want to use it to our advantage.”
Mikel Arteta: “From my side, no,” said the Arsenal manager upon being asked if he thinks Bayern Munich’s poor domestic form will have any bearing on this tie.
“As well it’s something that we have no say over, no control. We don’t know, but we always expect the best from any opponent. Whether we play Bayern, Brighton last week, Villa next week … regardless of where they are you always have to expect they’ll play in their best possible way and out-perform them.”
Those teams: Mikel Arteta makes two changes to the team that beat Brighton at the Amex Stadium on Saturday, opting to freshen up the left side of his outfit. Gabriel Martinelli replaces Gabriel Jesus on the wing, while Jakub Kiwior is in for Oleksandr Zinchenko at left-back. Both players who have been dropped are likely to be disappointed, not least because they both played well against Brighton. Other opinions are, of course, available.
Manuel Neuer and Leroy Sane come in to the Bayern Munich side that lost at Heidenheim at the weekend, while Kingsley Coman, Noussair Mazraoui and Aleksandar Pavlovic, who also missed that game are on the bench. Eric Dier and Matthijs de Ligt are also in, for Dayot Upamecano and Kim Min-Jae in the heart of Bayern’s defence.
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Arsenal v Bayern Munich line-ups
Arsenal: Raya, White, Saliba, Gabriel, Kiwior, Odegaard, Jorginho, Rice, Saka, Havertz, Martinelli.
Subs: Ramsdale, Partey, Gabriel Jesus, Smith Rowe, Nketiah, Tomiyasu, Trossard, Vieira, Nelson, Elneny, Hein, Zinchenko.
Bayern Munich: Neuer, Kimmich, Dier, de Ligt, Davies, Goretzka, Laimer, Sane, Musiala, Gnabry, Kane.
Subs: Upamecano, Kim, Coman, Choupo-Moting, Zaragoza, Peretz, Guerreiro, Muller, Ulreich, Tel, Mazraoui, Pavlovic.
Team news: We’ll have the full line-ups for you very shortly but can tell you in the meantime that Gabriel Jesus is on the bench for Arsenal.Both Harry Kane and Eric Dier start for Bayern Munich on what is bound to be an eagerly anticipated return to north London for both players.
Bayern Munich: The German champions will have to play in front of a completely partisan crowd in North London tonight, as they have been banned from bringing any travelling fans to the Emirates Stadium.
Uefa imposed the one-match suspension on their supporters after they threw fireworks on to the pitch during their side’s win over Lazio in Rome in the previous round. Their naughtiness triggered a suspended ban which had been handed down when they did the same thing during a previous Champions League game at Copenhagen in October.
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Tonight's match officials
Glenn Nyberg leads an all Swedish team of on-field match officials in tonight’s game, while his video assistant referees in the Uefa bunker are both Dutch.
Referee: Glenn Nyberg
Assistant referees: Mahbod Beigi and Andreas Söderqvist.
Fourth Official: Adam Ladebäck
VAR: Pol van Boekel and Dennis Johan Higler
Early Bayern Munich team news
Bayern Munich threw away a two-goal lead to lose against lowly Heidenheim in the Bundesliga last weekend and were missing Manuel Neuer, Aleksandr Pavlovic, Leroy Sane, Moussair Mazraoui and Kingsley Coman through injury or illness. All five players are expected to be available for selection tonight.
Thomas Tuchel will be without Bouna Sarr, Sacha Boey, Noel Aseko, Gabriel Marusic and Tarek Buchmann, who are all sidelined. Having missed the second leg of Bayern’s Round of 16 win over Lazio through suspension, Dayot Upemecano will almost certainly come back into their defence. Barring a slip in the bath-tub or some other freak accident on the day of the game, Harry Kane will start up front.
Early Arsenal team news
With Thomas Partey, Takehiro Tomiyasu, Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko all fully fit after returning from injury, Mikel Arteta faces several selection dilemmas in key positions which he has described as “positive problems”.
Bukayo Saka is likely to start, despite struggling during his side’s weekend win over Brighton. If you glance upwards, you’ll see Declan Rice and Kai Havertz walking the disciplinary tightrope – both Arsenal summer signings are a yellow card away from missing the second leg through suspension.
Jurrien Timber, who has missed all but the first two games of the season for Arsenal after suffering a serious knee injury in their Premier League opener, is Arteta’s only absentee, although the Dutch defender is coming along nicely in training and scheduled to return at some point in the coming weeks.
Beefed up security at the Emirates and elsewhere: Police in Madrid and Paris have stepped up security before this week’s Champions League quarter-finals after an apparent threat from Islamic State.
In London, the Metropolitan police said it had “a robust policing plan” in place for the match between Arsenal and Bayern Munich at the Emirates Stadium.
A short time ago, BBC News reported that the Met are “trying to reassure people that there isn’t specific intelligence of an attack, it’s just that somebody has made an incitement towards these attacks.”
Their reporter from outside the Emirates concluded his piece to camera by saying that while the Met want everyone attending tonight’s game to be vigilant, they “don’t want anyone to be overly concerned.”
Champions League: Arsenal v Bayern Munich
Muddying their spats in the Champions League quarter-finals for the first time since 2010, when they were given fairly short shrift by Barcelona, Arsenal host Bayern Munich in tonight’s first leg and go into the tie as heavy favourites.
The German side are having a rum time of it this season and could be deposed as Bundesliga champions for the first time in 12 years as early as next weekend. Their manager, Thomas Tuchel, will leave the club in June and this is their final chance of winning silverware of any kind this season. Make no mistake, these Bavarian behemoths are a wounded animal and given their European pedigree, should be feared accordingly regardless of their lack of form.
Seeking revenge for the humiliation visited upon them by Bayern the last time the sides met in this competition, a 10-2 shellacking on aggregate in 2016-17, Arsenal’s players will also have the added incentive of facing Tottenham Hotspur old boy Harry Kane tonight.
Despite scoring 38 goals in all competitions in his first season for Bayern, the England skipper could finish yet another season trophyless and will face an extremely stern test against a parsimonious Arsenal defence over two legs. Kick-off at the Emirates is at 8pm (BST) but we’ll have plenty of team news and build-up in the meantime.
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