Bukayo Saka and Leandro Trossard guided Arsenal to secure a first-leg QF draw against Bayern

The first leg of the 2023/2024 Champions League quarter-final between Arsenal and Bayern Munich ended in a stalemate at the Emirates Stadium with a score of 2-2. The host Arsenal's two goals were scored by Bukayo Saka and Leandro Trossard. Meanwhile, Bayern's two goals were scored by Serge Gnabry and Harry Kane thanks to this draw, the fate of both teams will be at stake in the second leg which will be held next week. With their status as hosts, the Gunners appeared to be pressing in this match. Mikel Arteta's men immediately stepped on the gas to attack their opponents and the match had only been running for 12 minutes, they had already managed to score a goal first. Receiving a short pass from Ben White, Saka entered the penalty box and then fired a horizontal curved shot into the bottom right side of Bayern's goal which Manuel Neuer failed to block. The Hosts took a 1-0 lead over the guests.

Behind 1-0, Bayern Munich tried to increase the intensity of their attacks. However, they had difficulty getting out of the hosts' pressure in this match, in the 18th minute, the German giants managed to equalize the score at 1-1 through a counter-attack, Leon Goretzka provided a breakthrough pass to Serge Gnabry and the winger had no trouble getting the ball into Arsenal's alley. This goal was a cuff for Arsenal and the Gunners tried to step up their attacks to catch up but unfortunately, they had bad luck in the 29th minute.

At that time Bayern counterattacked, and William Lintasa brought down Leroy Sane in the forbidden box. Harry Kane stepped up to be the penalty taker and he succeeded in doing his job well. The score changed to 2-1 in favour of the visitors. In the remainder of the first half, Arsenal continued to dominate the game and continued to put pressure on Bayern's goal however, the 2-1 score lasted until halftime. Entering the second half, the 42-year-old Spanish coach made one substitution, Oleksandr Zinchenko came on to replace Jakub Kiwior.

Arsenal, who were left behind in the first half, tried to appear more pressing they wanted to score quickly so they could equalize. Arsenal created some good chances however, unfortunately, the team from North London failed to maximize these opportunities into goals. Realizing that his team was deadlocked, Mikel Arteta made two more substitutions in the form of Gabriel Martinelli and Jorginho were withdrawn and replaced by Gabriel Jesus and Leandro Trossard.

The decision to include Trossard proved to be a smart one because 10 minutes after he came on, the 29-year-old left winger managed to equalize the score at 2-2. Starting from Gabriel Jesus who passed the challenge of Bayern's central defenders, he gave a short pass to Trossard then the ball was struck with a low shot and became a goal. This goal made the match even more exciting both sides stepped up their attacks to score the winning goal. In injury time, Bayern almost scored their third goal through Kingsley Coman, but unfortunately, his hard kick hit the goalpost and failed to become a goal and the score 2-2 lasted until the referee blew the whistle to signal the end of the match.

Lineups:

Arsenal (4-3-3): Raya; Kiwior, Gabriel, Lintasa, White; Rice, Jorginho, Odegaard; Martinelli, Havertz, Saka

Coach: Mikel Arteta

Bayern Munich (4-2-3-1): Neuer; Davies, Dier, de Ligt, Kimmich; Laimer, Goretzka; Gnabry, Musiala, Sane; Kane

Coach: Thomas Tuchel