That was a night when Bayern Munich proved they are a completely different team when it comes time for the Champions League. It could be that the obituaries were composed too hastily for a struggling superpower that yet possesses the muscle memory of a serial winner based on this evidence. Two games remain before they reach Wembley in pursuit of a seventh continental championship, and the way a diminished team shut out Arsenal raises the possibility that Thomas Tuchel will end his brief career with an impactful statement.

Nevertheless, Mikel Arteta and his players lost out on this chance. After a strong first half, Arsenal was clearly in the game, but they were outplayed and left feeling quite flat in the second half. The truth is, they left with a whimper, and it was hard to escape the feeling that, in the end, they had not given themselves enough support. A perfect free-kick deep into added time was offered to Bukayo Saka, who foolishly chose not to shoot, illustrating the lack of communication between these two teams.
That day felt a long way off, but maybe Arsenal will get that kind of advantage eventually. Bayern finished the game with a swagger. Subsequently, Arteta proposed that it might take ten years to complete. The home team had begun the game somewhat cautiously, giving their opponents control and being happy to wait for their opportunities to counterattack. Although Joshua Kimmich’s excellent header won the match, Arsenal faltered when they tried to step up the intensity later on. The winning margin could have been higher. Bayern faltered and, as Arteta bemoaned, the visitors’ first quarterfinal since 2010 would not feature a “magic moment.”


That accomplishment should put a halt to the rush to declare Arsenal’s efforts a failure, but Arteta still has work to do to motivate his team following a week that offered far more promise both domestically and internationally than it did. They could have considered a feat whose revolutionary potential Arteta had already pointed out if Gabriel Martinelli had shot to one side of Manuel Neuer when located by Martin Ødegaard shortly after the half-hour, a chance that proved to be their best of the evening. At this level, it’s the tiny lines that determine outcomes, and Bayern proved to have control over them.
To the audible anger of a noisy crowd, Arsenal had attempted to make their own marginal advances, forcing Bayern to switch ends and assault the Südkurve first. The idea appeared to be sound: although Tuchel’s team was thoroughly defeated at home, the venue exuded confidence from the start, with the mood perfectly harmonizing with the stage. More motivation was provided by the absences of Kingsley Coman, Serge Gnabry, and Alphonso Davies, especially for those tasked with containing Bayern’s threat down the wings.

That was a night when Bayern Munich proved they are a completely different team when it comes time for the Champions League. It could be that the obituaries were composed too hastily for a struggling superpower that yet possesses the muscle memory of a serial winner based on this evidence. Two games remain before they reach Wembley in pursuit of a seventh continental championship, and the way a diminished team shut out Arsenal raises the possibility that Thomas Tuchel will end his brief career with an impactful statement.

Nevertheless, Mikel Arteta and his players lost out on this chance. After a strong first half, Arsenal was clearly in the game, but they were outplayed and left feeling quite flat in the second half. The truth is, they left with a whimper, and it was hard to escape the feeling that, in the end, they had not given themselves enough support. A perfect free-kick deep into added time was offered to Bukayo Saka, who foolishly chose not to shoot, illustrating the lack of communication between these two teams.
That day felt a long way off, but maybe Arsenal will get that kind of advantage eventually. Bayern finished the game with a swagger. Subsequently, Arteta proposed that it might take ten years to complete. The home team had begun the game somewhat cautiously, giving their opponents control and being happy to wait for their opportunities to counterattack. Although Joshua Kimmich’s excellent header won the match, Arsenal faltered when they tried to step up the intensity later on. The winning margin could have been higher. Bayern faltered and, as Arteta bemoaned, the visitors’ first quarterfinal since 2010 would not feature a “magic moment.”

That accomplishment should put a halt to the rush to declare Arsenal’s efforts a failure, but Arteta still has work to do to motivate his team following a week that offered far more promise both domestically and internationally than it did. They could have considered a feat whose revolutionary potential Arteta had already pointed out if Gabriel Martinelli had shot to one side of Manuel Neuer when located by Martin Ødegaard shortly after the half-hour, a chance that proved to be their best of the evening. At this level, it’s the tiny lines that determine outcomes, and Bayern proved to have control over them.
To the audible anger of a noisy crowd, Arsenal had attempted to make their own marginal advances, forcing Bayern to switch ends and assault the Südkurve first. The idea appeared to be sound: although Tuchel’s team was thoroughly defeated at home, the venue exuded confidence from the start, with the mood perfectly harmonizing with the stage. More motivation was provided by the absences of Kingsley Coman, Serge Gnabry, and Alphonso Davies, especially for those tasked with containing Bayern’s threat down the wings.


Tuchel compared the first part of play to a game of chess. “Nobody wanted to sacrifice a figure on the board,” he claimed, despite the fact that Bayern was willing to give up the ball and demonstrated this momentarily after kickoff when Manuel Neuer hammered it upfield. Although Jamal Musiala forced David Raya to parry and Harry Kane, who was usually well-controlled by Arsenal’s defense, missed two early shots, there weren’t many real threat moments. Bayern’s last major wing threat, Leroy Sané, did not appear entirely fit, and Arsenal looked more and more stable.