At the start the crowd were asked to hold a bag over their head, I know we might not all be lookers, but that is insulting, it probably made sense for you watching at home. I must admit I was worried when I saw all the officials were Turkish, Germany's old allies. But when they showed their true allegiance and awarded Ozil's goal they blew Turkey's next year's Eurovision Song Contest chances.
When the Bayern supporters came in 5 minutes late they were surprised to see it was still 0-0, and the Arsenal crowd gave them a hearty round of applause.
The team got plenty of encouragement from the crowd, and in the last ten minutes the ground was rocking, although support had been good throughout.
Making Cech MotM doesn't take away from the fact that this was one of Arsenal's greatest performances in Europe. Every player worked hard and what they lacked in skill they made up for with heart.
Once again this team showed they are best when they have the least posession, and for once the German high line suited them, especially Mert.
This was one of those great European nights that have been few and far between over the last 18 years, it was worth waiting for, but it is no time to sit back. Two more performances like that and even Arsenal fans can believe in miracles.
Matty's ratings follow:
Cech - 9. Hot signing. Superb throughout.
Bellerin - 8. Douglas Costa got the better of him once or twice but otherwise solid. Superb going forward as well. The second goal was all about him. Mertesacker - 8. Superb throughout. Koscielny - 7. One or two iffy moments in possession but solid defensively. Made one excellent recovery on Lewandowski. Monreal - 8. Didn't give Muller a sniff.
Coquelin - 7. Solid. Cazorla - 7. Good in possession. Mint ball for Giroud's opener.
Ramsey - 7. Worked hard, pressured Bayern and kept things tight defensively before going off injured. Should've scored. Ozil - 7. Grafted hard and got his reward with a goal at the end. I'm impressed. Alexis - 6. Worked hard and tried to create but gave away possession twice in dangerous areas. Fortunately the defence bailed him out. Missed our best chance in the first half.
Walcott - 7. His pace made him a constant threat but his final decision was poor. Should've scored and also done better with a few other opportunities.
Subs:
Oxlade-Chamberlain - 6. Okay. Very lucky Ozil's goal was given because he royally f*cked up the rebound. Giroud - 7. Scored the winner, held the ball and linked well. Great cameo. Gibbs - 6. Again okay. Made one very good tackle.
Arsenal pulled off a stunning victory against Bayern Munich in the Champions League but not everybody was impressed with their performance.
SkySports pundit Guillem Balague took to Twitter after the 2-0 win to commend the result, but point out a key flaw in their game - allowing too much possession to the German side.
He also added that Olivier Giroud's opening goal had a touch of fortune for it, but also praised them to sticking to their approach.
Arsenal disciplined but didn't keep ball well enuf. Needed Neuer mistake to open the score but stuck to plan better than Bayern. Great win!
— Guillem Balague (@GuillemBalague) October 20, 2015
The possession statistics do not lie, of all the teams in action on Tuesday night in the Champions League, Arsenal had the joint lowest possession percentage along with BATE Borisov.
Possession Percentage
73% Barcelona
73% Munich
...
27% Arsenal
27% Borisov
Unlike Borisov who lost to Barcelona, Arsenal managed to win their game, showing Bayern that the use of possession is more important that simply having it.
Arsenal had eight shots on target compared to Bayern's six, and crucially two goals to the German side's zero.
After getting stung at home to Olympiakos in the last fixture - Arsenal will not mind how they did it on this occasion. They had 70 per cent possession that day and managed to lose 3-2, failing to show the same intensity and defensive discipline they did last night.
All our best results are when we have least possession.
The team that scores the most goals wins, its not ice skating
"When we had to suffer the team is a lion because they suffer together." 4 July 2020 at Wolverhampton Wanderers
Arteta on his team's first away victory at a club above them in the Premiership since September 2015 at Leicester.
The match was amazing. Was PROUD to be a Gunner. This match meant nothing to me cos i was one of those who felt we should concentrate on the EPL and FA Cup cos CL was over but i am glad i decided to watch it .
But Like you guys said
Quote:
Matty Sadler and Boris Mellor This was one of those great European nights that have been few and far between over the last 18 years, it was worth waiting for, but it is no time to sit back. Two more performances like that and even Arsenal fans can believe in miracles.
Arsenal and Miracles are like light and darkness...they don't mix.
This game showed what a tremendous difference having a confident experienced keeper brings to a game. Cech for me was MOTM. He reminded of the good old days of Seaman and Lehman. He made me forget the awful blunder of Ospina in the last game against olympiacos.
I would not waste my time with permutations or this and that, I will savour this game cos we BROKE Bayern's 12-game unbeaten run in style and made sure Lewandowski did not resume is unbelievable goal scoring run.
for once i will score just Wenger: 100% for his tactical approach and not letting his pride get in the way of having Cech between the sticks.
Can We Now Trust The Process 🤔🤷🏿♀️ or Should We Still Remain Cautious 🙇🏿♀️
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2015:10:21:11:44:21 by AJ The Gunner.
Padre Pio All our best results are when we have least possession.
The team that scores the most goals wins, its not ice skating
It is nothing new actually as Arsene Wenger first try at Negative with his "Rope Da Dope" tactic at Cardiff 2005 which won us the FA Cup. And a great vote of thanks to Jose Reyes who deliberately committed a professional foul to stop Ronaldo having a clear run at goal late in the game ...red card for Jose.
I think The Guardian reported that Arsenal FC won 11 games in 2015 with less than 50% possession, most notably is that win against Abu Dhabi City and of course 3-0 win against ManU with 38% possession.
DO notice that it is the same Mertesacker-Koscielny pairing with Coquelin sitting in front of them in 2015.
The solidity and calmness in the box is very much that astute purchase of Cech.
Of course, Ospina did gave a huge contribution after he replaced Szczesny in 2014/15 season.
But one common denominator that both Ospina and Cech provides is that calmness and authority int eh box with Cech a commanding figure and shouting out instructions.
The jittery and apprehension created by ALmunia, Fabianksi and Szczesny is the reason why our Back-4 was so nervous in contrast to what we experienced in 2015.
A title-winning team is built from the back ... starting with Cech.
MOurinho was correct.
Abramovich should sell Cech overseas and not to Arsenal FC, whose defence and morale boost to no ends by Cech's presence alone.
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