Arsenal coach Mikel Arteta was left to rue uncharacteristic mistakes after the 2-2 draw against Bayern – and one scene in particular. When it came to the penalty debates, however, he chose an exclusive path
The penalty that wasn’t given to FC Bayern? Bukayo Saka’s duel with Manuel Neuer in stoppage time? Harry Kane’s elbow strike against Gabriel? Kingsley Coman’s post goal? The Champions League quarter-final first leg between Arsenal and Bayern offered so many ‘what if…’ moments that another almost got lost in the aftermath. For Mikel Arteta, however, it was the decisive one on Tuesday evening.
Four minutes after Saka had put the Gunners ahead, right-back Ben White suddenly found himself alone in front of Manuel Neuer after a fine pass from Kai Havertz, but his unmarked finish failed to beat the Bayern goalkeeper and he missed a huge chance to make it 2-0 early on (16′). Two minutes later it was 1:1 instead
Arteta: “We have to make it 2:0”
“This is the moment of the game,” said Arteta, who was almost the only player not to give a verdict on the two potential penalties, after the final whistle. “We have to make it 2-0. Then it would have been a completely different game.” Instead, his defense, which had been so stable for weeks, suddenly invited Leroy Sané & Co. to score with misunderstandings and mistakes. “That’s very untypical for us,” said Arteta. “We didn’t reach our usual standards in many areas today and gave them space.” But that’s how it is in the Champions League, where “every mistake is punished”. That was “the most important lesson” of the evening for Arsenal’s coach
At least: His team, far less experienced than Bayern at this level, held their nerve after the 2-1 draw and still have every chance of progressing in the second leg next Wednesday in Munich. This “calmness” also impressed Arteta: “You can throw everything overboard and throw everything away and lose the quarter-final in 20 minutes. We didn’t do that. “
Arteta praises his Jokers – including Thomas’ brief appearance
And that was also down to the jokers. “The substitutes had a big influence,” said Arteta, praising them and, to a certain extent, himself. “The way they stepped onto the pitch, their attitude, their commitment – that made a big difference.” Oleksandr Zinchenko had already come on at the break for left-back Jakub Kiwior, who had been overrun several times, and later Leandro Trossard, who scored the 2:2 goal, and Gabriel Jesus, who provided the assist, revitalized the cold attack. And six-man Thomas, who came on for Havertz in the 85th minute and was immediately shown a yellow card, helped according to Arteta “when things got a bit chaotic and there was a big risk of losing”.
The fact that this did not happen was also due to the man who had given away the 2-0: White had successfully sprinted back when Sané had broken through in the 36th minute with the score at 2-1 and seemed to have only goalkeeper David Raya in front of him. It was another “what if…” moment at the Emirates
