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Arsenal needed a impressive performance and positive result against a European powerhouse, but Renée Slegers’s side relinquished their two-goal lead and the victory to Bayern Munich with little resistance, casting their European campaign into tricky waters.

Contrasting Outcomes from Last Season

Last season, a battling comeback from 2-1 down to a narrow win over Bayern in their last group stage match avenged their opening 5-2 loss to the German opponents and ignited their phenomenal run to the championship match. It marked a pivotal moment 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 Munich

Over four hundred 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 middle tier 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 "given their all" in their 1-1 draw with Chelsea on Saturday. They were "devastated" by the result against the WSL champions, with controversial officiating bearing the brunt of those frustrations.

The aim, 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 repeat of that slow start.

Fast Beginning for Arsenal

They opened on the front foot. Beth Mead was especially lively and created difficulties for the Bayern defender their left-back and the midfielder Japanese international on the right as Arsenal's intense pressure proved effective.

It was the forward's attempt that gave Arsenal the advantage in the fifth minute, the England forward's shot unusually parried by the Bayern goalkeeper, the German shot-stopper. The midfielder was there to head it back over the goalkeeper and in.

Doubling the Advantage

Arsenal's next score arrived in the 23rd minute. Bayern's insistence on building from defense had been risky and was capitalized on. Mead cut out Stine Ballisager's stray pass and laid off to the Swedish striker, who directed it towards the Spanish midfielder on the edge of the box. The mercurial midfielder took a control to create space from Tanikawa before lashing past Grohs.

Second Half Collapse

The intensity dropped a little in the second half. José Barcala turned to his bench to try to get his team back into the game: the ex-London striker Pernille Harder, whose hat-trick in October 2024 turned the match from 2-2 to 5-2, entered and Arianna Caruso and Turkish talent arrived soon after. The final substitute would make Arsenal sweat first, flying away on the break and collecting from German winger before directing the ball past the Arsenal keeper.

Complete Comeback

It was Bayern in the ascendancy after the gap narrowed, the home team believing they could take something from the game. The substitute delivered, floating a cross in from the edge of the area to equalize. They did not just want to draw, though: they wanted it all, and shortly after they had the advantage, Glodis Viggosdottir turning in at the front post from the winger's delivery. This time it was a sluggish end that let down Arsenal and, with one win from their European matches, they have a big job ahead.