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The Football Show panel analyse Arsenal’s poor record in April under Mikel Arteta and debate whether they can bounce back from their Champions League exit to Bayern Munich to keep their Premier League title bid on track.
A bullet header from Joshua Kimmich saw Bayern Munich win 1-0 in their Champions League quarter-final second leg, claiming a 3-2 aggregate victory and knocking Arsenal out of the competition.
The return leg did not quite have the drama of the first at the Emirates, where the game ended in a 2-2 draw, but the Germans took advantage of a moment of lax Arsenal defending.
Kimmich powered home his effort just after the hour to see the Gunners beaten, suffering another blow to their hopes of silverware this season after a 2-0 defeat to Aston Villa in the Premier League on Super Sunday.
“At the moment it is a really gutted dressing room. Very disappointed,” Mikel Arteta told TNT Sports after the game.
“I cannot find the right words to lift them. I wish I had. We have to go through it.
“The club has been without Champions League football for seven years and you want to play in the first year and be in the semi-finals or the final.
“We all wanted that so badly but you can see in many other clubs it takes them sometimes six or seven years to get to that stage. We were very close, that’s the reality.
“We have to go through the pain tonight and tomorrow, get up and come with the same attitude we had here, and hopefully beat Wolves.”
Bayern will face Real Madrid in the semi-finals after they beat holders Manchester City on penalties in Wednesday’s other quarter-final. The tie is set to take place on April 30 or May 1 and May 7 or 8.
Despite a goalless first half, both teams had chances. The hosts went close around the 20-minute mark, when Ben White was needed to make a vital clearance from Noussair Mazraoui’s dangerous cross.
David Raya was then needed to keep out a long-range effort from Jamal Musiala, with Bayern’s main goal threat – Harry Kane – registering just one touch in the opposition box.
But Arsenal soon began to kick into gear, as Manuel Neuer saved from Martin Odegaard, needing a second touch to keep the ball from going out for a corner.
But Arsenal’s best chance of the half came when Martinelli connected with Odegaard’s cross, but his shot went straight at the goalkeeper.
Immediately after the break, Bayern hit the post twice. Leon Goretzka’s header smacked the woodwork with Raya beaten. Raphael Guerreiro’s follow up was then put onto the upright by William Saliba.
And just after the hour, the hosts broke the deadlock. Guerriero picked up a loose ball on the left of the area. He lifted his head with enough time to spot the run of Kimmich from deep – losing his marker Martinelli – with the German nodding a powerful header past Raya.
After going behind, Arsenal couldn’t quite rediscover their momentum. There were a few half chances, while Musiala went closest at the other end for Bayern, but it was ultimately Kimmich’s header that decided the tie.
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta to TNT Sports: “We tried against a team who has a lot of experience and through the tie the margins have been very small. There were moments where we were better.
“We gave them two goals and in the tie that was a big advantage to give away.
“You could see there was zero margin for error and we made a big mistake defending the box to concede the goal. Then it was difficult. We tried in many different ways but it’s difficult.
“This is the moment to stay next to the players and give them support. We need to stick with them because they are the ones who have taken us on in this journey.
“It has to be a mistake or a magic moment that normally unlocks this tie. We didn’t manage to win the first leg right at the end and we could have done.
“We were better than them then and today we had a lot of moments of dominance, but that spark around the box is what you need in these ties to get a victory.
“What we have left to play [for] is beautiful.”
Sky Sports’ Oliver Yew:
Another chance of silverware slipped from Arsenal’s grasp in Munich.
It was another disappointing night for the Gunners following their defeat to Aston Villa on Sunday, which handed Man City the initiative in the Premier League title race.
However, while Sunday’s result left the Emirates Stadium flat and deflated as hopes of winning a first Premier League title since 2003/04 suffered a setback, defeat in Europe can be a crucial part of the building and learning process for Mikel Arteta’s young side as they look to become a real force in the Champions League.
“We have to go through the pain,” Arteta said after the 1-0 defeat at the Allianz Arena, which saw the Gunners crash out of the tournament 3-2 on aggregate. “The club has been without Champions League football for seven years and you want to play in the first year and be in the semi-finals or the final. We all wanted that so badly, but you can see in many other clubs it takes them sometimes six or seven years to get to that stage. But we were very close, that’s the reality.”
Manchester City didn’t make it out of the group stage in their two appearances in the Champions League. They reached one semi-final in their first eight goes at it. They reached the final in their 10th crack at it and only lifted the trophy at the 13th attempt.
The point is it takes time and there’s no shame in a quarter-final exit at the hands of Bayern Munich, who reached a 14th semi-final in the competition.
Arsenal’s lack of experience showed in this tie as they handed the initiative to Bayern at a crucial time in the first leg when they were dominant. They switched off for a split second in the second and they were punished. Arteta said it himself: “There was zero margin.”
But just as sides have gone through it before them in Europe’s premier club competition, this young Arsenal side will learn from this. Arteta will learn from this, and the challenge is to keep building, keep improving and going on the trajectory they have been, and come back stronger for another crack next season.
Bayern Munich head coach Thomas Tuchel:
“It was a chess game in the first half. Nobody wanted to make the first mistake. Everyone played a bit safe – there were moments for us, there were moments for Arsenal. We encouraged the team at half-time to show a bit more personality, a bit more courage. We were more fluid and played a fantastic second half. We deserved to win.
“It’s always better to play in front of your own fans. With every tackle and every good action, you get the support and it lifts you and gives you a second wind. Now it’s the semi-finals and everyone needs to step up – we need to step up and the supporters need to step up again.
“Today we had three free seats on the bench. On the other side, there were no injuries. We lost our maximum speed from the first match in Davies, Coman and Gnabry. We needed to find solutions and we did it as a team. My biggest congratulations and compliments to the team. We are very happy.”
Arsenal look to reignite their Premier League title hopes at Wolves on Saturday Night Football, live on Sky Sports. Kick-off 7.30pm.
Bayern visit FC Union Berlin in the Bundesliga on Saturday April 20, live on Sky Sports. Kick-off 5.30pm.
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Mikel Arteta believes Champions League success against Bayern Munich will take Arsenal to the next level as he told his players to ‘write a different story’ at the Allianz Arena.
Bayern Munich striker Harry Kane believes Tottenham fans will be hoping he can knock out his former club’s fierce rivals Arsenal in the Champions League – despite a Gunners victory actually helping Spurs.
Tottenham’s Champions League qualification hopes took a big dent over the weekend after their 4-0 defeat at Newcastle saw them slip out of the top four into fifth place.
Yet fifth spot could be enough to qualify for next season’s Champions League if the Premier League earns one of the two extra places available through UEFA’s coefficient system, which is decided on performance in Europe this season.
But England’s top flight (16.750) is currently missing out on an extra spot with Germany narrowly ahead of them in second (16.785), while Italy (18.428) are all but assured of a place.
An Arsenal victory over Bayern Munich in Wednesday’s Champions League quarter-final – which is finely poised following the 2-2 first-leg draw – would significantly improve England’s chances of securing an extra place in next season’s competition.
It leaves Spurs fans in an awkward position over whether they should be cheering on their arch rivals against Bayern.
When questioned about potentially hurting Spurs’ chances of Champions League qualification with a win over Arsenal, Kane joked: “I don’t really know how to answer that!”
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Former Tottenham striker Harry Kane is the top goalscorer in North London Derby history with 14 goals – here are all seven of his strikes from open play in the fixture
But Tottenham’s all-time leading scorer believes his former fans will be wanting him to help end the Gunners’ pursuit of a first European Cup.
He later added in the pre-match press conference: “Of course I know there will be a lot of Spurs fans watching hoping Bayern Munich go through tomorrow night.
“I can’t focus on that. All I can do is try and beat the team in front of us, and that’s Arsenal.”
Kane admits the season will be a failure if Bayern Munich do not win the Champions League.
Bayer Leverkusen romped to the Bundesliga title at the weekend, ending Bayern’s run of 11 straight league trophies and leaving them with only Europe’s highest honour to play for.
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Xabi Alonso’s Bayer Leverkusen beat Werder Bremen 5-0 on Sunday to win the Bundesliga title for the very first time
While Kane has excelled individually, his wait to win a team trophy after more than a decade without one at Tottenham could well continue.
The England captain said: “Of course every player, every club wants to win trophies, that’s the ultimate goal every season, but there’s a process into winning, there’s a process individually and in the team.
“You want to improve as a player every year, you want to show the world your capabilities and you want to push yourself to the very limits and you hope that helps with the team.
“Of course, from the club’s point of view it will be a failed season if we don’t win anything this year because we’re expected to win but all we can do is take that into next year and try and turn that around.
“The main thing for us is we still have an opportunity to turn this season into a great season if we win the Champions League. That motivation is still there and as players you can only hang onto that. If we can do something special tomorrow night then of course that keeps that hope alive.
“It’s a time to raise our game, it’s a time for me and the players who have been in big situations, pressure situations, to step up and be counted. It’s going to be an amazing atmosphere. There’s a lot of expectation but I think there’s a good belief among the squad that we can achieve something tomorrow.”
The quarter-finals of this year’s European competitions are only at the midway point, but England’s hopes of pipping Germany in the race for an extra Champions League spot look set to go down to the wire.
The Premier League still has a 57.8 per cent chance of claiming the bonus Champions League spot, according to Opta. However, those chances have been declining, plummeting 13 per cent after last week’s results.
With Germany and England neck-and-neck in that race, each win, draw and qualification for the next rounds is huge.
Each win is worth two coefficient points, a draw gets you one, and you get nothing for a defeat. There are also bonus points for getting to certain stages, so if Borussia Dortmund overturn their Champions League first-leg 2-1 deficit to Atletico Madrid on Tuesday, that will give Germany a further bonus point in their ranking.
Tottenham and Aston Villa fans will be watching closely in the hope Diego Simeone’s Atletico Madrid can do them a favour.
Victories for Bayer Leverkusen and Atalanta over West Ham and Liverpool respectively in the Europa League this week could also prove crucial in the coefficient race.
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