Loss Bayern Munich 1 - 0 Arsenal | Wednesday 17th April | KO: 20:00 BST | TNT Sports

No nostalgia. No crying. No excuses.

Let’s just go out there and ruin someone’s night particularly Harold’s one please:

Martinelli G.Jesus Saka
Jorginho Ødegaard
Rice
Tomiyasu Gabriel Saliba White
Raya​

Bayern 0-2 Arsenal (Teta Luck remontada word to @Makingtrax )

 

[HattoriHanzo]

Nah.

We might argue is he better than Goretzka. Probably 50/50.
And Laimer also was excellent in both our matches.

 

[GoonerJeeves]

As the dust settles this morning after a disappointing night, I think it's a decent time for some reflection over our Champions League campaign

The Champions League is a different kettle of fish from the Premier League. Whereas we often get away with things in the premier league, you have less margin for error in the champions league.

Our lack of experience showed, especially when we came to the knockout stages. That includes the manager.

We've talked about this season how we lack that goalscorer that gives you 20-25+ goals in a season. I think that deficiency showed up in the champions league.

Historically, we've underperformed in Europe, that trend was not broken this year.

All that being said, it's been good to be back in the champions league. In many ways it has put a perspective on our domestic performance and how it translates against European competition.

This is where you want to be, year in year out.... it would be nice to win it though....

 

[Let's play Aubamawang]

I think the lads will learn a lot from this experience. It would have been nice to exorcise the daemons from our previous losses since Bayern were beatable. We generally played well aside from the defending for the goal, but more worryingly we failed to create decent opportunities. Not sure what the xG was, but I'd be shocked if it were above 1.

That being said, I'm devastated we lost as Real Madrid would have been a wonderful opportunity for the team given their history in the competition, it certainly would have been a tie to remember.

If there's any consolation, with City out it's unlikely that 5th spot will earn CL football. All we can do now is keep City honest and hope for the best.

 

[dashsnow17]

You can twist it this way and that, but the fact remains Arteta has undoubtedly turned us into a good team, and undoubtedly he has yet to prove that we can get over the finish line. We’re missing that 5% between a good team and a winning team.

 

[Let's play Aubamawang]

You can twist it this way and that, but the fact remains Arteta has undoubtedly turned us into a good team, and undoubtedly he has yet to prove that we can get over the finish line. We’re missing that 5% between a good team and a winning team.

I think a Gyokeres or Isak can get us there. But I lean towards the former due to the latter coming with a history of missing significant time with injuries in recent seasons.

 

[Sammy1887]

I think a Gyokeres or Isak can get us there. But I lean towards the former due to the latter coming with a history of missing significant time with injuries in recent seasons.

Think we definitely need more than a striker. Our wing play isn't good enough and we've got issues in Midfield..don't get me started on the LB situation.

 

[Let's play Aubamawang]

Think we definitely need more than a striker. Our wing play isn't good enough and we've got issues in Midfield..don't get me started on the LB situation.

I'm actually not so concerned about LB as Timber should be ready to claim that for himself next season. I think that left 8 position needs some help though, which will help get more out of Martinelli. Saka needs an understudy though, for sure.

 

[Sammy1887]

I'm actually not so concerned about LB as Timber should be ready to claim that for himself next season. I think that left 8 position needs some help though, which will help get more out of Martinelli. Saka needs an understudy though, for sure.

More than an understudy Saka needs a competitor because I definitely believe a player like Nico Williams/Neto will bench him easily.

 

[Riou]

Atletico and Arsenal toasting eachother's beautiful League Championships (that they have both won double figure times) as they remain the biggest 2 clubs in the world to have never won the European Cup...

...brothers in arms

 

[Tom Mix]

After the dust has settled... we did not disgrace ourselves but we could have done better. We should have eliminated this average Bayern side.

Two years of saying "I told you so" to the ALWAYS PLAY YOUR BEST TEAM merchants I tell you once more - I told you so.

Mikel Arteta does not rotate and exhausted Arsenal are paying price

Players looked drained in defeat by Bayern Munich and – yet again – appear to have run out of ideas and energy at defining point of year

www.telegraph.co.uk

 

[GoonerJay24]

I haven’t rewatched the game yet, but here are my thoughts. Last night was difficult to accept, Bayern aren't as strong as in previous seasons. In the first half, we looked the better side; they struggled with our press and without the qualities of Gnabry or Conan upfront they couldn't pin us back. Tomiyasu and Gabriel respectively handled Sane and Kane. They attempted to adjust by having Kimmich invert, to improve in buildup, but this was largely ineffective. Overrall, I was pleased at halftime, butvwe had to switch play to the wings quicker. I felt Jorginho’s lack of athleticism might become a concern in the second half and hoped Arteta recognized this.

As it turned out, Bayern significantly increased their tempo after the break. They created better overloads from wide areas and Goretzka’s runs from midfield started creating opportunities. It was evident the match opened up, diminishing Jorginho’s influence. After they scored, I was disappointed with the substitutions. Arteta should have brought on Partey for Jorginho to bolster our midfield presence; we know Havertz struggles when playing deeper. While Partey isn’t known for his leadership, he has more experience and a better understanding of this competition than most of our players. In the last 15-20 minutes, We clearly lacked leadership to guide our players through that period.

It's a shame because I thought we had Bayern on the ropes in the first half. With more potent attackers, we could have taken the game away from them early. We're a young team and still maturing at this level; hopefully, next season, we can evolve our game and stand up better.

Sidenote: It was interesting watching Bellingham’s interview after the City-Madrid match. He said Ancelotti gives them the freedom to express themselves, unlike other coaches. I think in the last few seasons, Premier League teams have become overly obsessed with structure and control in every phase, forgetting that the game, especially at the elite level, is often won on individual brilliance and moments of magic. Without absolute world-class players, it's easy for opponents to neutralize a game plan when it's too predictable.

 

[HattoriHanzo]

After the dust has settled... we did not disgrace ourselves but we could have done better. We should have eliminated this average Bayern side.

Two years of saying "I told you so" to the ALWAYS PLAY YOUR BEST TEAM merchants I tell you once more - I told you so.

Mikel Arteta does not rotate and exhausted Arsenal are paying price

Players looked drained in defeat by Bayern Munich and – yet again – appear to have run out of ideas and energy at defining point of year

www.telegraph.co.uk

He should rotate, I agree.
But drop of quality is very big.
If Bayern are average with Neuer, Kimmich, Davies, Musiala, Goretzka, Coman, Gnabry, Sane, Kane, what is Arsenal then?
You think Arsenal can beat this "average" side with subs like Nketiah, Nelson, ESR, G. Jesus, Trossard?

 

[Heavy Duty Rom]

Yikes

 

[HollandGooner]

By the way, Arsenal Mania told me that Bundesliga is farmer's league.
Now they have 2 clubs in UCL semis.

I don't know if Liverpool can perform a miracle in Bergamo, or if West Ham can overcome deficit of 2 goals against Leverkusen.
So, both of them could go out from Europa League this evening.

Who is farmer's league then?

Premier League form has nothing to do with playing in the UCL. we beated Liverpool and City at home in a very convincing way and i rate them higher then Bayern and Real Madrid.

Real was outplayed by City yesterday for example and we didnt played that bad but our front players where not good enough.

We are one of the big dogs in the EPL but in Europe we need that little bit much of extra quality in our team.

Really think we need to get a proper striker in and a pure left back and ofcourse a proper partner for Rice.

 

[MartiSaka]

I haven’t rewatched the game yet, but here are my thoughts. Last night was difficult to accept, Bayern aren't as strong as in previous seasons. In the first half, we looked the better side; they struggled with our press and without the qualities of Gnabry or Conan upfront they couldn't pin us back. Tomiyasu and Gabriel respectively handled Sane and Kane. They attempted to adjust by having Kimmich invert, to improve in buildup, but this was largely ineffective. Overrall, I was pleased at halftime, though we had switched play to the wings more quickly. I felt Jorginho’s lack of athleticism might become a concern in the second half and hoped Arteta recognized this.

As it turned out, Bayern significantly increased their tempo after the break. They created better overloads from wide areas and Goretzka’s runs from midfield started creating opportunities. It was evident the match opened up, diminishing Jorginho’s influence. After they scored, I was disappointed with the substitutions. Arteta should have brought on Partey for Jorginho to bolster our midfield presence; we know Havertz struggles when playing deeper. While Partey isn’t known for his leadership, he has more experience and a better understanding of this competition than most of our players. In the last 15-20 minutes, We clearly lacked leadership to guide our players through that period.

It's a shame because I thought we had Bayern on the ropes in the first half. With more potent attackers, we could have taken the game away from them early. We're a young team and still maturing at this level; hopefully, next season, we can evolve our game and stand up better.

Sidenote: It was interesting watching Bellingham’s interview after the City-Madrid match. He said Ancelotti gives them the freedom to express themselves, unlike other coaches. I think in the last few seasons, Premier League teams have become overly obsessed with structure and control in every phase, forgetting that the game, especially at the elite level, is often won on individual brilliance and moments of magic. Without absolute world-class players, it's easy for opponents to neutralize a game plan when it's too predictable.

I agree football in the PL will end up as orchestrated as the NFL the way its going. And its not a good thing from a viewing perspective imo. Question is do we have the attacking talent to play off the cuff. Arteta definitely hasnt recruited attacking players with that in mind.
Its all about fitting the system (i.e. technical security and off the ball work) with the attacking players he has recruited. This is clear fron the fact we stil havent recruited a clinical striker or any wide player with pace.

 

[HattoriHanzo]

I haven’t rewatched the game yet, but here are my thoughts. Last night was difficult to accept, Bayern aren't as strong as in previous seasons. In the first half, we looked the better side; they struggled with our press and without the qualities of Gnabry or Conan upfront they couldn't pin us back. Tomiyasu and Gabriel respectively handled Sane and Kane. They attempted to adjust by having Kimmich invert, to improve in buildup, but this was largely ineffective. Overrall, I was pleased at halftime, though we had switched play to the wings more quickly. I felt Jorginho’s lack of athleticism might become a concern in the second half and hoped Arteta recognized this.

As it turned out, Bayern significantly increased their tempo after the break. They created better overloads from wide areas and Goretzka’s runs from midfield started creating opportunities. It was evident the match opened up, diminishing Jorginho’s influence. After they scored, I was disappointed with the substitutions. Arteta should have brought on Partey for Jorginho to bolster our midfield presence; we know Havertz struggles when playing deeper. While Partey isn’t known for his leadership, he has more experience and a better understanding of this competition than most of our players. In the last 15-20 minutes, We clearly lacked leadership to guide our players through that period.

It's a shame because I thought we had Bayern on the ropes in the first half. With more potent attackers, we could have taken the game away from them early. We're a young team and still maturing at this level; hopefully, next season, we can evolve our game and stand up better.

Sidenote: It was interesting watching Bellingham’s interview after the City-Madrid match. He said Ancelotti gives them the freedom to express themselves, unlike other coaches. I think in the last few seasons, Premier League teams have become overly obsessed with structure and control in every phase, forgetting that the game, especially at the elite level, is often won on individual brilliance and moments of magic. Without absolute world-class players, it's easy for opponents to neutralize a game plan when it's too predictable.

We didn't. First half was 50/50.
Would Partey make difference last 20 minutes?
I don't know, maybe he would.

 

[Tom Mix]

He should rotate, I agree.
But drop of quality is very big.
If Bayern are average with Neuer, Kimmich, Davies, Musiala, Goretzka, Coman, Gnabry, Sane, Kane, what is Arsenal then?
You think Arsenal can beat this "average" side with subs like Nketiah, Nelson, ESR, G. Jesus, Trossard?

Answer to your question: yes we could have won starting the game with the likes of Trossard, Jesus and ESR. It's crazy when your players are showing signs of tiredness to play a pressing game. Looks great for the first half hour but then you pay the price as we did.

The correct way to have focused this game is to play a containment game in the first half and then go for the win in the second. We did it the other way round and once our best XI had shot their bolt we were never going to win other than by a penalty shootout.

A top player on 70% energy levels is less useful than an average player on 100%. We need to learn this or we will keep making the same mistake time and time again.

 

[TheEliteMaster100_]

We're build to score an early goal and defend.

 

[Heavy Duty Rom]

Tired of hearing about “fine margins” Arteta and the fans keep going back to the White chance and the Martinelli chance.

What about Bayern? Hit the woodwork 3 times over the two legs, Kane had a few sights of goal yesterday, Musiala should have scored, they created openings, we didn’t.

City and Mardrid were back and forth. PSG and Barcelona were back and forth.

We are just so incredibly structured. Before Dubai, I remember many saying they are bored of watching us, we are a set piece team, we have no creativity. Then we went on a run and we forgot, but over the last 3 or 4 games, we are seeing it again, a lack of creativity, intent, ideas.

Arteta and the fans talk about not having a 25-30 goal striker, but where are the chances for the striker coming from? Yesterday we needed Saliba Gabriel and Tomiyasu to build ffs, we only started to look better after Jorginho started to take more responsibility and then Arteta takes him off. After that, we had nothing in midfield. None of the attack could get the ball in threatening positions.

 

[Pop Tart]

pen aside did Kane have any shots against us in both legs?