It was always a case of David against Goliath regardless of who was home or away. Arsenal have endured another mediocre season while in sharp contrast Bayern have steamrolled through much of the season aided by a squad depth that will send quivers down the spine of Europe‘s finest. It ended as a sad loss for Arsenal but maybe it shouldn’t have.
Could Wenger have done better tactically? I think so.
First, the logic of playing Theo Walcott upfront is understandable as his searing pace can be put to devastating use. However, one thing is Walcott using his pace to run behind the defenders while another is getting the right balls threaded through. Against Dante and Van Buyten, Walcott had very little joy as in the 1st half especially as Santi Cazorla was shifted to the right rather than his more familiar position in the whole. For most of the first half, the most advanced of Arsenal’s midfield trio of Wilshere, Arteta and Ramsey was the precocious Jack Wilshere but for all his brilliance, breaching the discipline of Javi Martinez and Bastian Schweinsteiger proved beyond him. In retrospect, playing Walcott on the right and Cazorla in the hole with the aerial threat of Olivier Giroud upfront will have been significantly more threatening (Arsenal looked most dangerous in the 2nd half with Cazorla in the hole and Theo on the right). Playing Walcott on the right will have been an exciting prospect as Ribery never tracks back to cover for his fullback and Alaba as well as a fair share of overlapping instincts. Exploiting that space will have been beneficial but in the same vein, the risk would have meant isolating Ribery on Sagna as Theo Walcott hardly ever tracks back either but with the form he’s in, Walcott seems like he would have done more damage.
Secondly, the midfield battle was one which Arsenal lost resoundingly in the 1st half. The combination of Mikel Arteta and Jack Wilshere is queerly balanced such that while Wilshere is the roving midfielder, Arteta is the one tasked with playing a holding role- something that is not entirely natural for him. Aaron Ramsey was in the mix but he looked detailed to double-team on Ribery on the right whenever the Ribery and Alaba combination threatened to wreak havoc on the right. Ultimately, it was Toni Kroos who not only got the timely first goal but also proved to be the wily trequarista as he probed Arsenal’s defence one minute and then dropped deep- too deep to be picked up by Arteta or Ramsey the next minute. For the 1st 45 minutes, Kroos was man of the match but faded off the in second half as an Arsenal revival seemed on the cards. At that point though, the damage had been done. It was not all about Kroos though as Javi Martinez snapped at the heels of everyone in red and white- a job Arteta will never be suited to. Schweinsteiger, in his part, made numerous interceptions and always looked assured in possession. The only time the Arsenal midfield seem to come to life was when Tomas Rosicky was introduced and Toni Kroos faded out of the game.
Essentially, Arsenal let Bayern play their game and tried to adapt to Bayern’s style. They did more to neutralize Bayern than to hurt them. It appears Wenger worried to much about his opponents and was on the backfoot even in his tactics. Playing the first leg of a tricky tie at home where a result was absolutely imperative, maybe Wenger should have gambled a bit more and let Bayern do the worrying instead. As it stands, Arsenal will go to Germany having conceded 3 away goals to a side who combine workmanship and flair with indignant efficiency. It doesn’t look good.
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Yomi Kazeem is, amongst other things, a football pundit and sports media professional based in Lagos, Nigeria. He tweets at @TheYomiKazeem
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