Arsenal lost Saka after ten minutes, went ahead, fell behind to Kane and came back again. Bayern made the better chances; Arsenal made the last one.
The numbers
| Arsenal | FC Bayern München | |
|---|---|---|
| Possession | 54% | 46% |
| Shots | 14 | 13 |
| On target | 5 | 5 |
| xG | 1.69 | 2.46 |
| Touches in opp. box | 22 | 29 |
| Corners | 5 | 3 |
| Fouls | 6 | 15 |
Result the chances deserved: Arsenal 26% / 19% / FC Bayern München 55% (Poisson).
Starting line-ups
Arsenal (4-2-3-1): Raya, Timber, Konsa, Gabriel, Calafiori, Rice, Guimarães, Saka, Ødegaard, Madueke, Havertz.
FC Bayern München (4-2-3-1): Neuer, Laimer, Upamecano, Kim Min-jae, Stanišić, Bischof, Pavlović, Gnabry, Saibari, Davies, Kane.
Bayern subs: Tah (46', Kim Min-jae), Luis Díaz & Karl (68', for Saibari & Gnabry), Brown (85', Davies), Ndiaye (90', for Luis Díaz, who went off injured). Bayern coach: Vincent Kompany. FotMob's timeline has Díaz on at 61' and Ndiaye at 85'; SI, Yahoo Sports and Sofascore's timeline give 68' and 90'. Kimmich (family bereavement), Olise (suspended) and Musiala (injured) were missing.
Cards: Havertz (13') and Konsa (39', for stopping Kane on a counter-attack). Attendance 75,000 (FotMob).
Key moments, move by move
- Ødegaard, in midfield, floats a simple ball over Bayern's defence.
- Eze, on for the injured Saka since the tenth minute, times his run on the left past Laimer.
- The flag goes up, but Stanišić on the far side has played him on by a sleeve (Yahoo Sports); VAR gives the goal.
- Eze lets the ball run across his body, takes a touch and strikes it low past Neuer into the bottom corner.
- Kane drops deep into midfield; Konsa is caught between following him and holding his line (Arseblog).
- From there Kane plays the ball about 30 metres along the floor through Arsenal's midfield, as Arteta described it.
- Davies, starting on the left wing, has already set off and gets behind Timber.
- One on one with Raya, he finishes with his weaker right foot into the bottom corner.
- Bayern work it down their right and Laimer cuts the ball back to Kane (Arseblog).
- Kane shoots from the edge of the box and the ball hits Timber's arm; Massa points to the spot.
- Kane takes it himself, with a stutter in his run-up, and sends Raya the wrong way: his tenth successive Champions League game with a goal (UEFA).
- Arsenal keep the ball after Bayern have dropped deep; the move goes through Madueke on the right (Sky Sports).
- Rice breaks forward from midfield, past the man who should be tracking him.
- Gyökeres, on since 68', holds off Tah in the box and slides the ball into Rice's path (Arseblog).
- From a tight angle on the right Rice drills it low past Neuer into the far corner.
Man-to-man all over the pitch, and Kane in the space it leaves
- Duels everywhere: both sides marked man-to-man. Arteta said "everything is man-to-man"; Kompany said Arsenal "pressed as intensely as we did" (UEFA.com via Arseblog). Arsenal had 54% of the ball and committed six fouls to Bayern's 15 (FotMob, Sports Mole).
- Kane drops, the runner goes: Bischof said the plan was for Kane to drop into midfield "to drag centre-backs out of position". It made the equaliser: Konsa was caught between following him and staying, and Davies ran into the gap (Arseblog). UEFA named Kane player of the match, with a goal and an assist.
- Arsenal went over and around: the opener was one ball over the top from Ødegaard for Eze (Reuters via Al Jazeera). Arsenal's corners were their other route: Calafiori and Guimarães shot over from them, and Neuer tipped Guimarães' header onto the bar at 48' (Sky Sports, Arseblog).
- The last 15 minutes: Bayern brought on Luis Díaz and Karl and dropped off. Kane said they "got caught in a low block" and Kompany said they were "struggling a bit in the last 10 to 15 minutes" (FC Bayern). Arsenal's substitutes finished it: Gyökeres held off Tah and set up Rice.
Recreate it in FM26
Arsenal · Arsenal's man-to-man press in Munich · 4-2-3-1Show cardHide card
Arsenal's man-to-man press in Munich
| Pos | Player | In Possession | Out of Possession |
|---|---|---|---|
| GK | Raya | Ball-Playing Goalkeeper | Sweeper Keeper |
| RB | Timber | Full-Back | Pressing Full-Back |
| RCB | Konsa | Centre-Back | Stopping Centre-Back |
| LCB | Gabriel | Ball-Playing Centre-Back | Covering Centre-Back |
| LB | Calafiori | Inverted Full-Back | Full-Back |
| RDM | Rice | Box-to-Box Midfielder | Pressing Defensive Midfielder |
| LDM | Guimarães | Deep-Lying Playmaker | Defensive Midfielder |
| RW | Madueke | Winger | Tracking Winger |
| AM | Ødegaard | Advanced Playmaker | Tracking Attacking Midfielder |
| LW | Eze | Inside Forward | Inside Outlet Winger |
| ST | Havertz | Deep-Lying Forward | Tracking Centre Forward |
Team instructions
In Possession
- Build-Up StrategyMixed
- TempoHigher
- Creative FreedomMore Expressive
Out of Possession
- Line of EngagementHigh Press
- Trigger PressMore Often
- Defensive LineHigher
- TacklingEase Off
The idea: A 4-2-3-1 that presses man-to-man from the front and looks for runs behind the opponent's markers. It needs a Box-to-Box Midfielder with the legs to defend and arrive in the box, and centre-backs fast enough to follow a dropping striker and still recover.
What FM26 can't copy: FM26 has no switch for who follows a dropping striker; the Stopping and Covering centre-back roles are the closest you can get.
Our reading of this match in FM26 terms, not an exported tactic file. Role names as in FM26.
What if? Replay it with a different plan
Our best alternative plan: Zubimendi on at 46' (for Guimarães), Gyökeres on at 55' (for Havertz), not 68'. Keep the man-to-man 4-2-3-1 that won the first 25 minutes, but put Zubimendi in front of the back four at half-time to cover Kane's drops and bring Gyökeres on earlier. Bayern would still have created chances; the aim is to lose fewer of them in the middle. It moves Arsenal's win chance from 26% to 32% (xG 1.69–2.46 becomes 1.84–2.26). Try your own changes to formation, pressing, approach and substitutions.
The game-changer Arsenal needed
Martín Zubimendi
Both Bayern goals started with Kane dropping into the space in front of Arsenal's centre-backs. A holding midfielder who stays there would have let Konsa hold his line instead of choosing between Kane and Davies.
Micky van de Ven
In a man-to-man defence the centre-back who follows the dropping striker needs the speed to get back. Van de Ven's recovery pace would let Arsenal track Kane and still race Davies into the space behind.
What the analysts said
“We pressed them, attacked them, and we were the better team for 20, 25 minutes and scored the goal.”Mikel Arteta (post-match press conference, via Arseblog)
“Harry Kane can put the ball 30 metres along the floor between us for Alphonso Davies, and that's the level.”Mikel Arteta (via Arseblog)
“It was our plan tonight: Harry Kane drops into midfield to drag centre-backs out of position.”Tom Bischof (DAZN/UEFA.com, via Arseblog)
“We should've killed it off, we had the chances.”Harry Kane (FC Bayern)
“We were struggling a bit in the last 10 to 15 minutes.”Vincent Kompany (FC Bayern)
“A player that has to come off with a really sharp pain is never good news, but we have to wait and see.”Mikel Arteta on Saka (Sky Sports)
Arsenal went toe to toe with Bayern, and had to earn the point twice.
What's happening. A 2–2 draw in Munich keeps Arsenal unbeaten in the Champions League, with seven points from three games. They lost Saka to a thigh injury after ten minutes, led through his replacement Eze, fell behind to Kane's penalty and levelled through Rice eight minutes from time. Bayern had the better chances: 2.46 xG to 1.69 (FotMob).
How it works. Both teams marked man-to-man. That wins the ball high up, and Arsenal led that way. The cost is cover: every defender has his own man, so when a striker drops deep a centre-back must choose to follow or stay. Kane dropped, Konsa hesitated, and Davies ran into the hole. Arsenal's goals came the same way: a run behind a marker, Eze from the left and Rice from midfield.
What the shots say. This is the first match this season in which an opponent out-created Arsenal on FotMob's numbers, and Bayern also had more touches in the box. One reading: Bayern were the better side and Arsenal were lucky to leave with a point. The other: a penalty makes up a large share of Bayern's total, both keepers had five shots on target to deal with, and Arsenal's set pieces nearly won it.