“I think the key was to keep the
discipline in the performance because they played really well and came full of
confidence and they controlled the game by having the ball and opening spaces.
Also, we need to make sure that we are organized and disciplined and work as a
unit, as one, and I think we did really well.”- Petr Cech.
Arsenal brought Bayern Munich’s 12-match winning run to a
shuddering halt with a gutsy 2-0 win in a vital Champions League clash at the
Emirates stadium last night. It truly feels incredible just writing that,
considering just how the odds were stacked against us. The Gunners had lost
their opening two Champions League fixtures to Dinamo Zagreb and Olympiacos,
the first time Arsenal have lost their opening two Champions League games in
their history. The last team to progress from the group stages after such a
start was Galatasaray in the 2012/2013 season. Next up for us was the German
juggernaut that is Bayern Munich who had won all 11 of their games this season,
scoring 37 and conceding just four, keeping seven clean sheets in the process.
Arsenal have never lost three consecutive European games, but were facing a
familiar foe- we have been paired with Bayern Munich for the third time in the
last four seasons- and had lost the two corresponding fixtures 2-0 and 3-1 at
the Emirates. Taken in wider context, Arsenal had conceded exactly three goals
in three of their last four Champions League games at the Emirates- against
Olympiacos, AS Monaco and Anderlecht- and faced a true uphill battle to keep
out the insatiable pair that is Robert Lewandowski and Thomas Muller, who have
combined for 27 of the 37 goals Bayern had scored thus far.
THE LINE-UP:
Arsene Wenger went with an unchanged line-up from the side
that beat Watford 3-0 just three days prior. This meant a first Champions
League appearance of the season for Petr Cech in goal, and it only seemed right
that our best ‘keeper would be between the sticks for this do-or-die clash.
Theo Walcott started once again up top, and curiously Bayern coach Pep
Guardiola went with David Alaba, normally a LB, to partner Jerome Boateng in
central defence. Doubtless to counter Theo’s pace as the Austrian is no slouch
either, but I think as an “insurance policy” for the German side as well-
Guardiola likely felt he needed the requisite recovery pace in case we broke
through their high line. More on that later.
THE SET-UP:
“It was not deliberate from the start
(to let Bayern have possession) but I thought when we played very high up we
stopped them from playing. When we were playing halfway they opened us up too
much so I decided to drop Ozil a bit deeper and to make it tight around the box
and catch them on the break…”- Arsene Wenger.
When you come up against sides like Bayern Munich or
Barcelona, or a Pep Guardiola-managed side rather, you either face them up and
try beat them at their own game (compete for possession, press high, and
attack) or you cede possession, stay compact and organized, put a shift in and
take your chances when they come your way. In my preview, I opined that we’ll
see a similar performance to the United game in which we scored early, kept it
tight and hit hard and fast on the counter-attack. Yesterday night was not
entirely to script in this regard as we had to wait until the 77th
minute for the break-through, but other than that both games were pretty
similar. We had to play deep, stay close together especially in midfield,
full-backs tucked in and try to compress the space in our final third.
I actually thought the set-up wasn’t entirely right in the
opening half- on a few occasions Francis Coquelin didn’t seem to be in tandem
with Laurent Koscielny and Per Mertesacker, perhaps Coquelin was wary of
sitting too deep against a side of Bayern’s quality. I was also concerned about
Bayern creating 2-vs-1 situations on either flank, but by and large the game
plan was well-executed. Douglas Costa still underlined his credentials as one
of the most dangerous wingers in the game as the Brazilian gave Hector Bellerin
trouble to no end especially in the first half. He ended up having 9/10
successful take-ons, which is an incredible stat. He was Bayern’s outlet when
things got tight in the middle and he managed to put in a few dangerous balls
as well as draw finger-tip saves from Cech.
Now obviously Arsenal are a side that are accustomed to
playing with the ball and have dominated possession in all but two of their
matches so far this season (one being when we ended the game with nine men at
Stamford Bridge). Yesterday night was always going to be more about what we did
without the ball, and a case can certainly be argued that we excelled, even
dominated in that regard. We created the better chances and had more attempts
on target despite having only 27% of the possession.
|
|
ARSENAL
|
BAYERN
MUNICH
|
|
Total
shots
|
13
|
21
|
|
Shots
on target
|
8
|
6
|
|
Percentage
of shots on target
|
62%
|
29%
|
|
Shots
in penalty box
|
12
|
9
|
|
Percentage
of shots in penalty box
|
92%
|
43%
|
|
Big
chances created
|
4
|
2
|
So in case anyone speaks of Bayern’s dominance on the ball,
point him/her in the direction of those stats above. Arsenal were more
dangerous with the little possession that they had. If only Neuer wasn’t such a
good ‘keeper eh? I still don’t understand how he kept Theo’s header out by the
way.
THE GOALS:
By the time Theo was being subbed off for Giroud on 74
minutes, he had had six attempts, with four on target (all saved) before Giroud
came on, but the Frenchman scored with his first attempt on goal just three
minutes after coming on. Giroud actually has more goals than he does starts
now, and with his goal yesterday has now scored four of his five goals after
coming off the bench. Super-sub much? I don’t think he’ll like that tag though!
The goal itself was fortuitous in the manner in which it went
in. Giroud himself won a free kick, and as Cazorla floated the ball in, Manuel
Neuer came for the ball and missed it completely. Let’s just pause there for a
moment people. By this point Neuer had already defied Arsenal with remarkable
stops from Ozil and Theo, but even the best make mistakes. Remember that the
next time Cech or Ospina messes up. Giroud was in the right place to bundle the
ball home, but the ball rather came off his face (I think he even had his eyes
closed), then off his arm and rolled into the back of the net. A scruffy
effort, but he’ll take them either which way.
The second came after some brilliant, lung-bursting stuff
from Bellerin- an Arsenal attack broke down deep in opposition territory, and
as Bayern attempted to pass the ball from the back Bellerin gave everything he
had to intercept, drive forward and beyond Alaba before squaring the ball for
Mesut Ozil to slot home. Neuer again nearly defied all that is humanly possible
to keep the ball out, but this time the ball had just crossed the line before
he could get to it. Full marks for the official behind the goal for giving it
as well.
MAN-OF-THE-MATCH:
Petr Cech. Everyone in red-and-white earned their plaudits
this week, but Cech was absolutely phenomenal when it mattered the most.
“I think there were two key moments.
Obviously if Thiago had scored early in the game then they would have had control
of the game so it was a very important save and then obviously I’m glad I made
the save against Lewandowski as in that moment we could have been 1-0 down and
instead in a few minutes we were 1-0 up and basically that decided the game.”- Petr Cech.
Cech ended the game with six saves, two big chances saved,
which is actually identical to Neuer’s stats but taken in wider context- Cech
has now saved 75% of the big chances he’s faced and 77% of the shots in prime
areas he’s faced. He also boasts the best shots saved ratio in the league- 84%.
Yesterday’s win came at a cost as we now have a hamstring
injury to Aaron Ramsey to contend with. There is continued concern for Alexis
Sanchez as well:
“(Ramsey) is alright but very down because he
told me that his hamstring is quite a tough one. He is out. Alexis, you could
see he was a bit jaded physically tonight and he still pushes himself so much
but he finished exhausted. The two games with Chile, plus travelling, plus
Watford, plus tonight, it is too much.”- Arsene Wenger.
Let’s enjoy the win before we go again this weekend against
Everton.
*Quotes and image from Arsenal Media*
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