adminThat is far from the whole story, though. For as predictable as the outcome was, so the manner of Arsenal’s exit was valiant.
A second goal, scored by Laurent Koscielny with four minutes remaining, meant a team that had been all but written off by every good judge and a fair few bad ones took Bayern Munich closer to the wire than could reasonably have been expected.
The aggregate score for the tie was level. Munich progress only on the third away goal they scored at the Emirates Stadium. Arsenal, for the second consecutive season, left themselves just too much to do.
It was a 4-0 defeat against AC Milan that did for them a year ago, before a 3-0 home win in the return leg made for a grandstand finish, and it was the first 90 minutes that gave this encounter to Munich.
The Germans deserved to reach the last eight for their 3-1 win in north London which was the truly outstanding performance of the two legs. Arsenal were resilient here but unexceptional going forward.
What could not be expected was that Munich would be so insipid.
Credit Arsenal for containing them but that still does not explain an almost total absence of ideas in front of goal, lame pot-shot following lame pot-shot, with second-string goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski rarely troubled in any real sense.
After the first game Munich were being tipped as European champions but the gulf between this performance and that of Barcelona against AC Milan the previous night was spectacular.
Munich spent the last five minutes plus injury time running the ball into the corner. Barcelona did not do that, not once, faced with a game every bit as delicately and dangerously poised. Some have said Pep Guardiola is taking no chances going to a club that is walking the Bundesliga and already established among the best in Europe, but this display showed there is work to be done and plenty of it.
This was a very creditable performance from Arsenal’s perspective and represents Bayern Munich’s first defeat at home in this competition in 15 games and almost three years. The 2012 Champions League final was, technically, a neutral venue, and a draw, being decided on penalties. But it was still not enough. Munich have never lost a home Champions League tie by the margin Arsenal needed to go through and until the late second was scored seemed entirely untroubled by losing to win.
Arsenal made the Germans look ordinary, and they made the home fans very tense by the end, but to reach the three-goal lead they required to provide English football with a presence in the last eight was simply too much.
Gervinho came closest to making the difference, turning in the six-yard box with 12 minutes left as the locals gasped, but his finish trickled wide.
For all Arsenal’s claim to high ideals the second was that English staple, the well-worked dead ball. Santi Cazorla swung it in from a corner and Koscielny rose above his man to score. A melee ensued as Arsenal attempted to recycle the ball with an urgency not shared by Manuel Neuer, Munich’s goalkeeper, but they did not threaten again.
So if this was the impossible dream, what Arsenal did confirm is that there is resilience in this group that may yet spring a surprise in the domestic league. Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea will not have felt entirely comfortable watching Arsenal’s resistance here.
Munich had chances, not least when Arjen Robben burst through on 62 minutes and forced a fine save from Fabianski, but nothing to justify their reputation.
They were a wet lettuce leaf compared to Barcelona’s vibrancy and had obviously been told Arsenal’s goalkeeper was a weak link. Only this could explain the number of shots that were taken from range, mostly by Robben and Toni Kroos.
Arsenal looked untroubled for long periods as the home fans grew more frustrated. Tottenham gave Arsenal considerably more trouble than Bayern — Swansea City probably will on Saturday, too.
The big miss, naturally, was Jack Wilshere. With his wit in midfield, Arsenal might have given Bayern the shock of their lives. As it was, after an early goal, the Germans probably realised an upset was unlikely unless they took silly chances and almost settled for stumbling into the next round — until that late scare.
The bottom line remains that Arsenal lost this tie at home last month. This restored credibility and pride but it would be wrong to get carried away. Munich could afford to lose this match. It may have been closer than anyone imagined but it may also have been very different with more at stake.
As it was, Munich seemed undecided on a game-plan and were a little taken aback that Arsenal were up for a game, and scored within three minutes.
Olivier Giroud’s goal would not have shifted the betting market greatly, but it did wonders for Arsenal’s pride and Munich struggled from there.
The much-maligned Aaron Ramsey was the architect with a long carry through the heart of midfield, before feeding Theo Walcott wide on the right.
His crossing is often criticised, too, but this was a beauty, taking full advantage of a loss of footing in the Munich defence to pick out Giroud who finished into an empty net, with Neuer drawn out of position by the fall.
Staying upright on the pitch at the Allianz Arena was a challenge for a fair few, whether the fault of over-watering or the earlier snow freezing in sub-zero temperatures. Carl Jenkinson, in particular, was doing a passable Bambi on ice impression before settling into a solid game.
At one time he sprinted back to remove the ball from Robben with ease. Now there is an unlikely sentence for those who remember the player from three years ago.
The travelling support celebrated at the end and there will be much talk of bravery and honour restored.
When the euphoria subsides, however, the truth is another year without a trophy and a bitter fight to pass this way again next year. If this is a highlight, however unexpected, it is not a good season. – Mailonline
Online Reporter