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The London side required a impressive display and favorable result against a continental giant, but Renée Slegers’s side surrendered their 2-0 advantage and the victory to Bayern Munich with little resistance, casting their European campaign into tricky waters.

Contrasting Outcomes from Previous Campaign

In the previous campaign, a battling comeback from 2-1 down to a narrow win over Bayern in their last group stage match avenged their opening 5-2 loss to the German opponents and kickstarted their phenomenal run to the championship match. It marked a pivotal moment in their season, showing a mental toughness that propelled them to a second Champions League title. Their breakdown here demonstrated they are yet to recapture the fighting spirit that ensured success in May.

Travelling Supporters in Germany

More than 400 Arsenal fans had traveled to Munich, many gathering at the city's famous beer hall before the game for their pre-match meet-up. They were placed in a corner of the upper level at the Allianz Arena, but still made their voices heard, battling against the vocal local supporters of over 15,000 that made their presence felt in the stands below.

Learning from Recent Form

Daphne van Domselaar had said her team had "showed everything we had" in their hard-fought tie with Chelsea on Saturday. They were "devastated" by the result against the WSL champions, with controversial officiating bearing the brunt of those frustrations.

The goal, though, was to channel the momentum of that strong performance after halftime to Germany with them. Arsenal had started slowly against Chelsea. In Munich they executed their strategy and there was no repeat of that slow start.

Strong Start for Arsenal

They opened on the front foot. Beth Mead was particularly energetic and created difficulties for the Bayern defender Franziska Kett and the central player Japanese international on the right as Arsenal's high and aggressive pressing reaped its rewards.

It was Mead's effort that gave Arsenal the advantage in the early stages, the striker's effort unusually parried by the Bayern goalkeeper, the German shot-stopper. Fox was there to head it back over the goalkeeper and in.

Doubling the Advantage

Arsenal's next score arrived midway through the half. Bayern's determination to play out from the back had been risky and was exploited. The winger intercepted Stine Ballisager's stray pass and laid off to Stina Blackstenius, who directed it towards the Spanish midfielder on the penalty area. The talented playmaker took a touch to create space from the defender before driving past the goalkeeper.

Second Half Collapse

The energy dropped a little in the second half. The Bayern coach turned to his bench to try to get his team back into the game: the former Chelsea forward Danish international, whose hat-trick in October 2024 took the game from 2-2 to 5-2, entered and Arianna Caruso and Alara Sehitler followed shortly. The last of these would cause problems first, sprinting forward and receiving from German winger before directing the ball past the Arsenal keeper.

Total Turnaround

It was Bayern in the driving seat after the gap narrowed, the hosts sensing they could get a result from the game. Harder delivered, clipping a cross in from the penalty box to equalize. They did not just want to take something, though: they wanted everything, and six minutes later they had the advantage, Glodis Viggosdottir scoring at the near post from Bühl's cross. This time it was a poor finish that let down Arsenal and, with one win from three Champions League games, they have a big job ahead.