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The London side required a strong display and positive outcome against a continental giant, but Renée Slegers’s side relinquished their two-goal lead and the victory to Bayern Munich far too easily, plunging their European campaign into tricky waters.

Contrasting Outcomes from Previous Campaign

Last season, a inspiring fightback 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 remarkable journey to the championship match. It marked a turning point in their season, demonstrating a resilience that carried them to a European triumph. Their breakdown here demonstrated they are still searching for the fighting spirit that led to victory in May.

Fan Support in Germany

More than 400 Arsenal fans had made the trip to Munich, many filing into the city's famous beer hall before the game for their pre-match meet-up. They were placed in a corner of the middle tier at the Allianz Arena, but still made their voices heard, battling against the vocal local supporters of over 15,000 that brought the noise in the lower tier.

Learning from Previous Performance

Daphne van Domselaar had said her team had "showed everything we had" in their 1-1 draw with Chelsea on Saturday. They were "devastated" by the outcome against the WSL champions, with questionable refereeing decisions bearing the brunt of those disappointments.

The goal, though, was to channel the momentum of that impressive second-half display to Germany with them. Arsenal had started slowly against Chelsea. In Munich they stuck to the plan and there was no repeat of that sluggish beginning.

Strong Start for Visitors

They started aggressively. Beth Mead was especially lively and caused problems for the Bayern defender their left-back and the midfielder Japanese international on the right as Arsenal's high and aggressive pressing reaped its rewards.

It was Mead's effort that ensured Arsenal took the lead in the fifth minute, the striker's effort strangely pushed away by the Bayern goalkeeper, the German shot-stopper. Fox was there to nod the ball back over the goalkeeper and in.

Extending the Advantage

Arsenal's second goal arrived in the 23rd minute. Bayern's insistence on building from defense had been dangerous and was capitalized on. Mead cut out the defender's wayward ball 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 touch to create space from the defender before driving past the goalkeeper.

Second Half Collapse

The energy lessened a little in the final period. José Barcala turned to his bench to try to bring his side into the game: the former Chelsea forward Danish international, whose hat-trick in October 2024 turned the match from 2-2 to 5-2, came on and Arianna Caruso and Alara Sehitler followed shortly. The last of these would cause problems first, flying away on the break and collecting from German winger before directing the ball past Van Domselaar.

Complete Turnaround

It was Bayern in the driving seat after the deficit was reduced, the home team believing they could take something from the game. Harder delivered, clipping a cross in from the edge of the area to level. They did not just want to draw, though: they wanted everything, and six minutes later they had the advantage, Icelandic defender turning in at the near post from Bühl's cross. This time it was a poor finish that let down Arsenal and, with a single victory from three Champions League games, they have a major challenge ahead.