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The London side required a strong display and favorable result against a European powerhouse, but Renée Slegers’s side relinquished their two-goal lead and all three points to Bayern Munich with little resistance, casting their European campaign into tricky waters.

Contrasting Fortunes from Last Season

In the previous campaign, a inspiring fightback from a goal behind to a 3-2 victory over Bayern in their final group game made up for their opening 5-2 loss to the German opponents and kickstarted their remarkable journey to the final. It marked a turning point in their season, demonstrating a resilience that propelled them to a second Champions League title. Their collapse here showed they are still searching for the spirit that led to victory in May.

Fan Support in Munich

More than 400 Arsenal fans had traveled to Munich, many filing into the Hofbräuhaus before the game for their pre-match meet-up. They were shoved into a section of the upper level at the Allianz Arena, but still created an atmosphere, competing with the impressive home crowd of over 15,000 that brought the noise in the lower tier.

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 "deeply disappointed" by the outcome against the league leaders, with controversial officiating bearing the brunt of those frustrations.

The goal, though, was to take the energy of that impressive second-half display to Germany with them. Arsenal had started slowly against Chelsea. In Munich they stuck to the plan and there was no repeat of that slow start.

Strong Start for Visitors

They started aggressively. The England forward was particularly energetic and caused problems for the Bayern full-back their left-back and the midfielder Momoko Tanikawa on the right as Arsenal's intense pressure reaped its rewards.

It was Mead's effort that ensured Arsenal took the lead in the fifth minute, the striker's effort unusually parried by the Bayern goalkeeper, the German shot-stopper. Fox was there to head it back over the keeper and in.

Doubling the Lead

Arsenal's next score arrived midway through the half. Bayern's insistence on building from defense had been risky and was capitalized on. Mead intercepted Stine Ballisager's stray pass and laid off to Stina Blackstenius, who directed it towards the Spanish midfielder on the edge of the box. The talented playmaker took a control to create space from the defender before lashing past the goalkeeper.

Second Half Turnaround

The energy dropped a little in the final period. The Bayern coach made substitutions to try to get his team back into the game: the former Chelsea forward Danish international, whose three goals in October 2024 took the game from 2-2 to 5-2, came on and Italian midfielder and Alara Sehitler arrived soon after. The final substitute would make Arsenal sweat first, sprinting forward and collecting from German winger before guiding the ball past the Arsenal keeper.

Complete Comeback

It was Bayern in the driving seat after the gap narrowed, the home team sensing they could get a result from the game. The substitute delivered, clipping a cross in from the penalty box to equalize. They did not just want to take something, though: they wanted it all, and six minutes later they had the advantage, Icelandic defender turning in at the near post from the winger's delivery. This time it was a sluggish end that disappointed Arsenal and, with a single victory from three Champions League games, they have a big job ahead.