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The London side required a impressive performance and positive result against a continental giant, but Renée Slegers’s side relinquished their 2-0 advantage and all three points to Bayern Munich with little resistance, plunging their European campaign into difficult waters.

Contrasting Outcomes from Previous Campaign

In the previous campaign, a inspiring fightback from a goal behind to a narrow win over Bayern in their final group game avenged their opening 5-2 loss to the German opponents and kickstarted their phenomenal run to the championship match. It represented a turning point in their season, demonstrating a mental toughness that carried them to a second Champions League title. Their collapse here demonstrated they are yet to recapture the spirit that led to victory in May.

Fan Support in Germany

More than 400 Arsenal fans had traveled to Munich, many filing into the city's famous beer hall before the game for their traditional gathering. They were placed in 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 made their presence felt in the lower tier.

Building on Previous Performance

Daphne van Domselaar had stated 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 receiving much criticism of those disappointments.

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

Fast Beginning for Arsenal

They started aggressively. Beth Mead was especially lively and caused problems for the Bayern full-back their left-back and the central player Japanese international on the right as Arsenal's intense pressure reaped its rewards.

It was the forward's attempt that ensured Arsenal took the lead in the early stages, the striker's effort unusually parried by the Bayern goalkeeper, the German shot-stopper. Fox was there to nod the ball back over the keeper and in.

Extending the Advantage

Arsenal's next score arrived in the 23rd minute. Bayern's determination to play out from the back had been dangerous and was capitalized on. The winger intercepted the defender's wayward ball and passed to the Swedish striker, who directed it towards Mariona Caldentey on the penalty area. The talented playmaker took a control to create space from the defender before driving past Grohs.

After Break Turnaround

The energy dropped a little in the second half. José Barcala turned to his bench to try to get his team back into the game: the former Chelsea forward Pernille Harder, whose hat-trick in October 2024 took the game from 2-2 to 5-2, entered and Italian midfielder and Alara Sehitler followed shortly. The last of these would cause problems first, flying away on the break and collecting from Klara Bühl before directing the ball past the Arsenal keeper.

Complete Comeback

It was Bayern in the driving seat after the gap narrowed, the hosts believing they could get a result from the game. The substitute delivered, clipping a looping ball in from the penalty box to level. They did not just want to take something, though: they wanted everything, and shortly after they had the lead, Glodis Viggosdottir scoring at the front post from Bühl's cross. This time it was a sluggish end that disappointed Arsenal and, with a single victory from their European matches, they have a big job ahead.