Match report – Participant rankings – Arteta response – Video
Arsenal’s Champions League run is over after a 1-0 defeat to Bayern Munich final night time. Mikel Arteta made some adjustments to his group, beginning Takehiro Tomiyasu at left-back, bringing Jorginho again into midfield which pushed Kai Havertz up entrance, and utilizing Gabriel Martinelli on the left.
Earlier than the sport, Bayern made it clear they have been going to try to play a counter-attacking sport, so it wasn’t a shock to see them let Arsenal have a number of the ball early on. 13 minutes in, we’d had 70% possession, with a few tame efforts from Kane at Martinelli at both finish. It was cautious from each side, comprehensible with a lot at stake.
Regardless of that, Bayern demonstrated their menace with moments of hazard. Leroy Sane obtained behind Tomiyasu, just for Gabriel to dam on the close to publish, and a break down their left noticed Ben White do brilliantly to get again and block what would seemingly have been a sure objective for Noussair Mazraoui. Jamal Musiala examined Raya with a shot from outdoors the field, whereas on the different finish Martin Odegaard’s deflected effort had Manuel Neuer scrambling to make a save.
Our greatest probability of the half, and finally of the night time, fell for Martinelli within the thirty first minute. He took it first time along with his left foot, however I believe he had extra time than he first thought. Might he have taken a contact and gone along with his proper? Probably, however I perceive why he did what he did. Sadly, whereas heading in the right direction, it was straight on the keeper.
There have been moments within the first half the place we obtained ourselves into good positions, however the combos across the field simply didn’t come off. The ultimate cross to set somebody free simply wasn’t fairly there. Nonetheless, I don’t suppose 0-0 at half-time was unhealthy by any means, and I think of their planning for this sport, that was an eventuality Mikel Arteta and his teaching workers would have targetted. In a decent European tie away from dwelling, it was an honest place to be in on the break.
The factor is, you want to have the ability to step it up within the second half when the sport turns into only a bit extra open, and for the second sport working, we have been discovered wanting. I don’t know if the actual fact Bayern got here out of the blocks rapidly from half-time performed a component, however maybe it put us on the again foot and we simply didn’t have a strategy to reply. The distinction within the two 45s is clear. The primary was fairly even, they’d 4 photographs to our 7, however within the second we may solely muster 2 efforts to their 11.
Virtually right away they hit the bar with a header from Goretzka after which the publish with a comply with up shot. That preliminary effort was a warning, a participant working from deep to get on the tip of a cross. There was nearly one other mix-up between Gabriel and Raya, it value us a nook, and the strain felt prefer it was mounting. Then, within the 63rd minute, the deadly blow.
It started with one thing we didn’t see sufficient from Arsenal, a midfield participant driving by means of the traces to open up house. Konrad Laimer’s burst noticed Bayern get down their proper, Sane crossed, it went over the far publish, Gurreiro clipped it again in and Kimmich, who had been concerned the within the transfer earlier, ran off Martinelli to thump dwelling a header. Martinelli’s defensive work all night time to assist Tomiyasu was glorious (he had tracked Sane’s run all the best way), however only a second the place he was caught on his heels was sufficient for Bayern to get the objective.
Arteta responded by placing on Gabriel Jesus and Leandro Trossard for Martinelli and Jorginho, but it surely made little distinction. We simply couldn’t discover a strategy to damage them. There are issues we may laser give attention to this morning if we actually need. Trossard not placing a late free kick into the field once we had despatched the massive males up; the Odegaard shot which ought to have been an Arsenal nook however was given as a objective kick; Saka’s horrible late nook which didn’t make it past the close to publish.
However these are very a lot within the ‘what if?!’ class for me. It’s potential we may have made extra of them, however that we didn’t summed up our night time. It was considerably chastening, actually. A lot has been fabricated from the advantage of expertise within the Champions League, and with out making any excuses, I believe that was true final night time – because it was within the Porto sport too. On that event we had simply sufficient high quality to cope with it, final night time Bayern confirmed us we nonetheless have some strategy to go.
Afterwards, Mikel Arteta stated:
Clearly very unhappy and disillusioned with the ultimate end result. It was a tie of very small margins – within the first leg, we conceded two very poor targets and that has an enormous impact within the tie. We have been nonetheless alive, got here right here and I’m actually happy with the gamers, how they stood up, the best way they tried to play, what they tried to do, particularly within the first half. It was a sport that you could possibly see both an error or a person or magic second that might determine the tie. The margins are so small. We didn’t defend our field nicely in any respect in that motion and we ended up not having sufficient to attain a objective.
He additionally made some extent which I believe is vital once we analyse this sport, and the efficiency over two legs:
We haven’t performed within the competitors for seven years, and we haven’t been on this place for 14 years. There’s a cause for it, and we need to do all the pieces. Quick ahead, tremendous fast in a single season and after we had the capability and the standard to be within the semi-final, as a result of the margins have been very small. However these margins typically are coming from one thing else, that perhaps we don’t have but.
For me, final night time wasn’t about lack of effort, or gamers not attempting. I believe they gave it a superb go, and whereas the second half was frustratingly limp, for my part it’s extra concerning the high quality than the applying. Within the first half, it was straightforward to think about a extra dynamic central midfield, for instance – with all due respect to Jorginho. I checked out what Musiala did at instances, driving by means of challenges and opening up house, and I may simply make room for that sort of participant on the membership (like they develop on timber, however what I imply).
Because the second half went on, it turned pretty apparent from the best way the sport was going that our greatest probability of scoring was both from a set-piece (inherently harmful), or from somebody doing one thing particular – however we don’t actually have that sort of particular person within the group or the squad. Arteta spoke about needing magic moments at this degree, however realistically who can present that? Our three centre-forward choices are Jesus, Eddie Nketiah and Havertz – there’s very clearly room so as to add somebody in that space.
Once more, with all due respect, throwing on Eddie to strive get a objective is a Hail Mary above all else. A participant with 1 objective in his final 23 appearances is unlikely to save lots of you in a Champions League quarter-final tie away towards a group like Bayern. Harsh? Maybe. However true. And past that, when you consider the way you would possibly react to this type of state of affairs in a sport of this magnitude, you have a look at the bench and if gamers like Thomas Partey, Emile Smith Rowe, Reiss Nelson and Fabio Vieira aren’t thought of adequate for this degree, not even for a couple of minutes if you desperately want a objective, then you need to be ruthless and improve as lots of them as you possibly can.
So, when Arteta talks about what we don’t have but, I perceive it, but it surely’s now incumbent on him and Edu and many others, to deal with that in the summertime. I don’t suppose going out of the Champions League on the quarter-final stage is a shame or something like that – have a look at the groups who exited this week – but it surely nonetheless looks like a missed alternative, particularly if you replay the primary leg in your thoughts.
It’s important we study from it although, and the truth of video games like this towards opposition of this high quality and expertise, is that they typically let you know what you’re lacking. I believe we noticed that fairly clearly final night time – not least as a result of what you’re lacking locations big bodily calls for on the gamers who’re on the proper degree, which then impacts their means to contribute since you lean too closely on them.
This week, we appeared like a group that ran out of fuel, and there are causes for that. Now we have gamers in key positions who should play on a regular basis as a result of the supervisor doesn’t consider or belief within the alternate options. I nonetheless firmly consider we’re making progress and enhancing, however we are able to’t ignore issues we are able to all see.
Proper, I’m going to depart it there for now. We’ll have half an Arsecast Additional for you in a short while. We’ll do half 1, however as a result of James is in Munich and has to do resort/airport stuff, we received’t do questions right now.
That ought to be out round 10.30am. Till then.
