INTRODUCTION
Mikel Arteta’s young gunners, captained by the elite Martin Odegaard, faced a bruised Bayern Munich side. A fascinating 2-2 draw provided a battle of tactics between Tuchel’s men and Arsenal.
Arsenal in possession generally looked to use Rice and Jorginho as their double pivot, allowing quick central progression, due to the prowess of players of their likeness. But Bayern were quick to respond, assembling in a 4-4-2, with Kane and Musiala shadowing the double pivot, trying to slow down central progression. Odegaard positioned himself as a third option in the center, and a dangerous one at that - given his class and creativity in all spaces. Bayern countered this by making Sane invert, and effectively convert into a 4-3-3, allowing Kiwior, who’s not exactly the most creative person on the ball, to stay unmarked. This severely inhibited Arsenal’s central progression, leaving them to look for another option.
Sending Rice and Odegaard into a wider position allowed for easier line-breaking progression, as Bayern would have to break their press structure to counter these options.
With Alphonso Davies focusing on marking Bukayo Saka, there was quite a bit of scope in the right flank in regard to attack for Arsenal. Saka, Odegaard and Ben White moved fluidly with understanding, to create threats and space on the right wing. Ben White played a crucial role in making timed runs, to receive the ball in 1v1 situations, when Serge Gnabry was preoccupied with marking duties. This allowed some huge chances on that right wing.
Moving on to Bayern’s attack, it was characterized by the front three, who were in perfect positions to provide an attacking thrust to the team. During the build-up, we saw Kane drop deeper to receive the ball and play it out to Sane or Musiala, both excellent passing options, in the half-spaces. This combination was extremely dangerous for the Gunners.
The introduction of Oleksander Zinchenko as the right back provided a huge boost to the Arsenal attack. With the presence of a technically gifted player such as himself, Arsenal had quite a bit of options for central progression. Zinchenko functioned as a single pivot, starting up progression, linking up with Havertz or Rice, or any other player who made a run in the midfield when left free. This allowed some creative players to function near the final third and made the Gunners dangerous in the second half.
KEY BATTLES IN THE FIRST LEG:
The stage was set for many key battles between the Bavarian and Arsenal players. Here are some of the key battles that took place:
SAKA VS. DAVIES:
We saw some interesting battles on that right flank, with Saka and White linking up well, sometimes exposing Davies on that right flank, leading to some good opportunities. Overall, it wasn’t a very convincing performance from Davies, who did leave a few gaps in that half-space that were easy to exploit, eventually leading to a Saka goal. With the yellow card Davies received, he will not attend the second leg of this fixture.
KANE VS. SALIBA:
With Saliba’s excellence and unshakeable form this season, we’ve seen him turn up against big strikers, at big games, and Kane was no exception. Saliba kept Kane dormant for most of the game, unfortunately giving away a penalty due to a clumsy challenge on Sane. Despite this, Saliba continued to shadow and keep a close eye on Kane, who couldn’t produce much in the final third.
JORGINHO VS. MUSIALA:
While Odegaard was creating and refining a multitude of chances for Arsenal in his general playmaker areas, Jorginho managed Musiala well, not allowing him much breathing space to exude creativity in the build-up. Despite this, Musiala did break away a few times, and played a huge role in the link-up that led to the Bayern equalizer.
KEY BATTLES IN THE SECOND LEG:
The stage is, once again set, for a multitude of key battles that might define the second leg. Here are some of them:
DE LIGT VS. HAVERTZ:
Matthijs De Ligt, being one of Bayern’s most consistent defenders, and seemingly faultless for most of the season, will provide a huge challenge to the false 9, Kai Havertz. Havertz was in impeccable form, creating a boatload of chances and scoring goals in the final third. His versatility and impact in the final third are irreplaceable for Arsenal, and De Ligt must look to shut him down, which could go a long way for Bayern.
MUSIALA VS. RICE:
Musiala has a very important role at Bayern, and that is of the playmaker. We saw him get dominated for the most part in the first leg, although he did provide a couple chances through some quick link-up play. Bayern will look to him for creativity in the final third. Declan Rice has been functioning as a pivot in a double pivot recently. He has a knack for spotting runs, and provides an unshakeable defensive layer to Arsenal, that Musiala will have to circumvent, to provide a substantial impact to Arsenal.
KANE VS. SALIBA:
Yet again, we believe that this battle is paramount in this fixture. With as much experience as both the players have, and the form that both are in, this match up will be crucial for both teams
We believe that the second leg is set for a bloody battle, with plenty of memorable moments and tactical genius, with Tuchel’s men squaring off against Arteta’s young gunners.
Read more about the history of football tactics: https://www.uniscorefootball.xyz/post/football-history-and-the-evolution-of-football-tactics
Read our Arsenal analysis: https://www.uniscorefootball.xyz/post/the-art-of-scoring-and-the-surge-of-arsenal-under-mikel-arteta
Learn about the 4-3-3 formation and its principles: https://www.uniscorefootball.xyz/post/beginner-s-guide-to-football-analysis-understanding-the-tactics-of-the-4-3-3-formation