Bayern Munich 2-2 Arsenal — Arsenal came from 2-1 down to earn a point at the Allianz Arena on Wednesday night in a pulsating Champions League clash. Eberechi Eze and Declan Rice scored for the Gunners in a match that had everything — a VAR goal, a penalty, an injury scare, and a late comeback.
But the evening ended with one major worry. Bukayo Saka limped off in the tenth minute and did not return.
| Stat | Bayern Munich | Arsenal |
|---|---|---|
| Possession | 46% | 54% |
| Shots | 13 | 14 |
| Shots on Target | 5 | 5 |
| Big Chances | 4 | 2 |
| Corners | 3 | 5 |
| Fouls | 15 | 6 |
Mikel Arteta did not come to Munich to settle for a point. He came to win. And even after his side fell behind, he was proud of the way they responded.
“Wow, what a game,” Arteta told reporters after the final whistle. “We prepared a team to win the game — you could see that from right at the beginning, with the mindset, the purpose, the adventure the team had.”
Arsenal pressed Bayern, attacked them, and were the better team for 20 to 25 minutes before scoring the opening goal. Bayern then took control before Rice’s late equaliser restored parity.
“After we scored, you saw the reaction of the team — taking the ball, wanting to attack them and go again to win the game,” Arteta said. “I think that tells you a lot about the team.”
Bayern boss Vincent Kompany was honest in his own assessment.
“It took a bit of our momentum,” he said of the equaliser. “We still had the feeling we could win the game. But this was a strong opponent, and the game was never over.”
The biggest concern from the night was Bukayo Saka, who pulled up sharply in the tenth minute and was replaced by Eberechi Eze. Arteta was cautious when asked for a medical update after the game.
“A player that has to come off with a really sharp pain is never good news,” he told TNT Sports.
Pundit Martin Keown was more direct when speaking on TNT Sports.
“It’s the thigh muscle, so that can be a number of weeks,” he said. “It’s a blow — you don’t want to keep losing quality players. You want this man fit, he’s been magnificent for the club in the last four or five years.”
Arsenal are expected to scan Saka and provide a clearer update in the coming days. His absence for any significant period would be a major blow to Arteta’s side given the fixture schedule ahead.
Beyond the result and the injury, Arteta pointed to something deeper — the mentality his team showed in one of the toughest venues in European football.
“The personality and the courage we had — to get the ball off them and attack them, to be very composed,” he said. “It’s a different game from what we usually face in the Premier League.”
When Arteta referenced how visiting teams had been treated at the Allianz Arena in recent years, it underlined how much Arsenal’s performance deserved credit.
Arsenal now have two wins and a draw from their first three Champions League matches, placing them comfortably in the top half of the league phase table. The point in Munich keeps their knockout qualification push firmly on track.
Steven Gerrard, watching on TNT Sports, offered a word of caution ahead of the later rounds.
“In the latter stages of the competition, they will play a more dangerous Bayern team when they get back to full strength,” he said. “He will know that Arsenal will need to be slightly better to knock them out of the competition further down the line.”
Arsenal did not win in Munich. But they showed something more important — they will not lie down when things go against them. Going 2-1 down at the Allianz Arena, with their best winger already on the bench injured, a lesser team would have shut up shop. Arsenal went looking for the equaliser and got it. The Saka scan results will dominate the coming days. But on a night when character was the main question, Arteta’s team gave him the right answer.
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