Kane On Target As Bayern Munich, Arsenal Share Points At Emirates Stadium
Harry Kane returned to north London with a goal as Arsenal’s Champions League hopes were left hanging in the balance after they fought out a draw with Bayern Munich in the quarter-final first leg at Emirates Stadium.
Kane, Tottenham’s record goalscorer, received a predictably hostile reception from Arsenal’s supporters, who saw the Gunners make the perfect start when Bukayo Saka’s low finish put them ahead after only 12 minutes.
Bayern belied their poor form in the Bundesliga to turn the game around before the break as former Arsenal forward Serge Gnabry swept home the equaliser six minutes later.
Kane’s moment arrived when William Saliba tripped Leroy Sane at the end of a blistering run after 32 minutes. The England captain stepped forward for the resulting penalty and silenced the taunts with his 15th goal in 20 appearances against Arsenal.
Mikel Arteta’s side were not at their fluent best but substitute Leandro Trossard was the beneficiary of outstanding work by Gabriel Jesus to equalise.
Arsenal felt they should have had a penalty in the final seconds of stoppage time but the referee waved away their appeals when Saka went down as he was challenged by keeper Manuel Neuer.
The Gunners were arguably also fortunate not to concede a penalty themselves earlier in the half, when Gabriel picked the ball up with his hands after the referee had signalled for a goal-kick to be taken.
Several Bayern players complained at the time but the referee swiftly waved their appeals away.
The second leg in Munich is on Wednesday, 17 April.
Arsenal left the pitch amid a mood of disappointment and frustration after a performance that was unusually tentative.
The Gunners’ late equaliser from Trossard, who has scored six goals as a substitute this season, sets the second leg up perfectly, although Bayern will feel they are favourites at the Allianz Arena.
It rescued a respectable result from a display that lacked Arsenal’s usual fluency and defensive assurance, Gnabry’s equaliser an uncharacteristically sloppy concession starting with a mistake by Gabriel.
At the end, Arsenal were complaining bitterly that referee Glenn Nyberg should have awarded a last-gasp penalty when Saka went down but it looked like the Gunners’ forward initiated the contact with Neuer.
Whether it was big-stage nerves or not, Arsenal fell short of the standards that have taken them to the top of the Premier League.
This, in itself, will give Arsenal and manager Arteta hope for the second leg because they can perform so much better than they did here.
