A tale of two keepers, really.
Petr Cech has made a big difference , just as Jens Lehmann did.
Lewandowski looked good for 20 minutes but not after that.
3-0 against Manchester United and 3-0 against Watford and now 2-0 against Bayern Munich?
Football is a game of sequences. Usually.
Bayern v Arsenal is on Nov 4th.
First half, Neuer made a fine saves from Walcott and Ozil, while at the other end winger Douglas Costa gave Bellerin something to think about.
Arsenal had good chances in a goalless first half, then Costa beat Coquelin and his shot fizzed just ove r the bar.
Thomas Muller was remarkably anonymous.
If Arsenal’s possession style is multipass, Bayern’s last night was Multi-multipass.
Arsenal had less of the ball but moved it much more quickly.
Oxlade came on in 56 for Ramsey, who went off with a hamstring injury.
Then Cech saved from Lewandowski.
And then Arsenal got the priceless breakthrough.
A Cazorla free kick into the box, Neuer and Koscielny both got nowhere near it, and the bouncing ball hit Giroud’s face and then hit hand and trickled over the line.
For the Bundesliga champions to concede a goal like that was bizarre.
On 90+4, Ozil made it 2-0 from Bellerin’s breakaway.
A rocking night for Arsenal fans, who really got behind the team.
Bellerin admitted they’d underestimated Olympiakos, who won 1-0 in Zagreb last night.
That 3-2 defeat at home put AFC’s participation at risk.
But this impressive victory gives Arsenal a decent chance of qualifying,
Verdict: The most important player in a football team is the goalkeeper.
If Wenger hadn’t played Ospina in the first two games, Arsenal would now be top of Group F.
PS Two months ago I heard that Bayern are going back to German football next season.
This flat performance suggests that a re-Germanisation of their style would be beneficial.
Myles says:
Apologies.
There were 3 or 4 versions of this piece last night
This morning something happened.
I dont know how the wrong one got posted.