🔗 Share this article

The London side required a impressive display and favorable outcome against a continental giant, but Renée Slegers’s side relinquished their 2-0 advantage and all three points to Bayern Munich with little resistance, casting their European campaign into tricky waters.

Different Fortunes from Last Season

In the previous campaign, a inspiring fightback from 2-1 down to a 3-2 victory over Bayern in their final group game avenged their opening 5-2 loss to the Bavarian side and kickstarted their phenomenal run to the final. It marked a turning point in their season, showing a resilience that propelled them to a European triumph. Their collapse here showed they are still searching for the fighting spirit that led to victory in May.

Fan Support in Munich

More than 400 Arsenal fans had made the trip to Munich, many filing into the city's famous beer hall before the game for their pre-match meet-up. They were shoved into a section of the middle tier at the Allianz Arena, but still made their voices heard, battling against the impressive home crowd of over 15,000 that made their presence felt in the lower tier.

Learning from Recent Form

Daphne van Domselaar had said her team had "showed everything we had" in their 1-1 draw with Chelsea on Saturday. They were "deeply disappointed" by the result against the WSL champions, with questionable refereeing decisions bearing the brunt of those disappointments.

The aim, though, was to take the energy 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 slow start.

Fast Beginning for Arsenal

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

It was the forward's attempt that ensured Arsenal took the lead in the fifth minute, the England forward's shot unusually parried by the Bayern goalkeeper, the German shot-stopper. The midfielder was there to nod the ball back over the goalkeeper and in.

Extending the Advantage

Arsenal's second goal arrived midway through the half. Bayern's determination to play out from the back had been dangerous and was capitalized on. Mead cut out the defender's wayward ball and laid off to Stina Blackstenius, who directed it towards the Spanish midfielder on the penalty area. The talented playmaker took a control to create space from the defender before driving 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 get his team back into the game: the former Chelsea forward Danish international, whose hat-trick in October 2024 turned the match from 2-2 to 5-2, entered and Arianna Caruso and Alara Sehitler arrived soon after. The last of these would make Arsenal sweat first, sprinting forward and collecting from German winger before directing the ball past the Arsenal keeper.

Total Comeback

It was Bayern in the ascendancy after the gap narrowed, the hosts believing they could get a result from the game. Harder produced, clipping a looping ball in from the penalty box to level. They did not just want to draw, though: they wanted everything, and shortly after they had the lead, Glodis Viggosdottir turning in at the front 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 major challenge ahead.