Harry Kane returned to north London with a goal as Arsenal’s Champions League hopes hang in the balance after they fought out a draw with Bayern Munich in the quarter-final first leg at Emirates Stadium.
Kane, Tottenham’s record goalscorer, received a predictably hostile reception from Arsenal’s supporters, who saw the Gunners make the perfect start when Bukayo Saka’s low finish put them ahead after only 12 minutes.
Bayern belied their poor form in the Bundesliga to turn the game around before the break as former Arsenal forward Serge Gnabry swept home the equaliser six minutes later.
Kane’s moment arrived when William Saliba tripped Leroy Sane at the end of a blistering run after 32 minutes. The England captain stepped forward for the resulting penalty and silenced the taunts with his 15th goal in 20 appearances against Arsenal.
Mikel Arteta’s side were not at their fluent best but substitute Leandro Trossard was the beneficiary of outstanding work by Gabriel Jesus to equalise.
Arsenal felt they should have had a penalty in the final seconds of stoppage time but the referee waved away their appeals when Saka went down as he was challenged by keeper Manuel Neuer.
The second leg in Munich is on Wednesday, 17 April.
Arsenal still have hope
Arsenal left the pitch amid a mood of disappointment and frustration after a performance that was unusually tentative.
The Gunners’ late equaliser from Trossard, who has scored six goals as a substitute this season, sets the second leg up perfectly, although Bayern will feel they are favourites at the Allianz Arena.
It rescued a respectable result from a display that lacked Arsenal’s usual fluency and defensive assurance, Gnabry’s equaliser an uncharacteristically sloppy concession starting with a mistake by Gabriel.
At the end, Arsenal were complaining bitterly that referee Glenn Nyberg should have awarded a last-gasp penalty when Saka went down but it looked like the Gunners’ forward initiated the contact with Neuer.
Whether it was big-stage nerves or not, Arsenal fell short of the standards that have taken them to the top of the Premier League.
This, in itself, will give Arsenal and manager Arteta hope for the second leg because they can perform so much better than they did here.
More to follow.
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Arsenal
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Squad number5Player namePartey
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Squad number9Player nameGabriel Jesus
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Squad number19Player nameTrossard
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Squad number35Player nameZinchenko
Bayern Munich
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Squad number1Player nameNeuer
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Squad number6Player nameKimmich
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Squad number4Player namede Ligt
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Squad number15Player nameDier
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Squad number19Player nameDavies
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Squad number8Player nameGoretzka
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Squad number27Player nameLaimer
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Squad number10Player nameSané
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Squad number42Player nameMusiala
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Squad number7Player nameGnabry
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Squad number9Player nameKane
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Squad number11Player nameComan
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Squad number22Player nameRaphaël Guerreiro
Line-ups
Arsenal
Formation 4-3-3
- 22Raya
- 4White
- 2Saliba
- 6Gabriel
- 15KiwiorSubstituted forZinchenkoat 45′minutes
- 8Ødegaard
- 20JorginhoSubstituted forGabriel Jesusat 67′minutes
- 41Rice
- 7Saka
- 29HavertzSubstituted forParteyat 86′minutesBooked at 89mins
- 11MartinelliSubstituted forTrossardat 66′minutes
Substitutes
- 1Ramsdale
- 5Partey
- 9Gabriel Jesus
- 10Smith Rowe
- 14Nketiah
- 18Tomiyasu
- 19Trossard
- 21Fábio Vieira
- 24Nelson
- 25Elneny
- 31Hein
- 35Zinchenko
Bayern Munich
Formation 4-2-3-1
- 1Neuer
- 6Kimmich
- 4de Ligt
- 15Dier
- 19DaviesBooked at 9mins
- 8Goretzka
- 27Laimer
- 10SanéSubstituted forComanat 66′minutes
- 42Musiala
- 7GnabrySubstituted forGuerreiroat 70′minutes
- 9KaneBooked at 55mins
Substitutes
- 2Upamecano
- 3Kim Min-jae
- 11Coman
- 13Choupo-Moting
- 17Zaragoza
- 18Peretz
- 22Guerreiro
- 25Müller
- 26Ulreich
- 39Tel
- 40Mazraoui
- 45Pavlovic
- Referee:
- Glenn Nyberg
- Attendance:
- 60,221
Live Text
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Match ends, Arsenal 2, FC Bayern München 2.
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Second Half ends, Arsenal 2, FC Bayern München 2.
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Kingsley Coman (FC Bayern München) hits the left post with a right footed shot from very close range. Assisted by Jamal Musiala.
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Thomas Partey (Arsenal) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
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Foul by Thomas Partey (Arsenal).
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Jamal Musiala (FC Bayern München) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
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Foul by Bukayo Saka (Arsenal).
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Jamal Musiala (FC Bayern München) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
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Substitution, Arsenal. Thomas Partey replaces Kai Havertz.
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Declan Rice (Arsenal) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
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Foul by Konrad Laimer (FC Bayern München).
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Attempt missed. Kingsley Coman (FC Bayern München) left footed shot from outside the box is close, but misses to the right. Assisted by Jamal Musiala.
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Foul by Gabriel Magalhães (Arsenal).
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Kingsley Coman (FC Bayern München) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
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Foul by Martin Ødegaard (Arsenal).
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Harry Kane (FC Bayern München) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
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Offside, FC Bayern München. Harry Kane is caught offside.
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Goal! Arsenal 2, FC Bayern München 2. Leandro Trossard (Arsenal) right footed shot from the centre of the box to the bottom left corner. Assisted by Gabriel Jesus.
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Delay over. They are ready to continue.
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Delay in match because of an injury Eric Dier (FC Bayern München).