Former Scotland striker Ally McCoist was blown away by one thing when Arsenal hosted Bayern Munich at the Emirates Stadium on Tuesday.
There was a raucous atmosphere in North London as Arsenal took on Bayern Munich in the first-leg of this Champions League quarter-final clash.
There was plenty of pressure on Mikel Arteta’s side heading into this match. The Gunners have not been at this stage of Europe’s elite club competition for 14 years, and expectations were high.
Arsenal came into this match in far better form than their opponents, as they have not been beaten in the Premier League since the turn of the year. Bayern Munich, meanwhile, have had a very poor domestic campaign by their own standards and are set to miss out on the Bundesliga title for the first time since 2012.
How Arsenal struggled with Champions League nerves v Bayern Munich
Jamie Carragher believed that Arsenal were good enough to beat Bayern Munich, but the visitors’ experience and quality ought not be underestimated. Thomas Tuchel’s side showed in the first half, as a Serge Gnabry strike and a Harry Kane penalty cancelled out Bukayo Saka’s opener, that they have the know-how to turn the tide of matches.
The Gunners looked nervy in the opening period. Few of Arteta’s men have competed at this level in Europe before and it showed as a couple of sloppy moments gifted Bayern Munich their way back into the game.
Despite the hosts’ struggles, the Emirates Stadium crowd stuck by their team and made plenty of noise. On top of having the home advantage in this first-leg, Arsenal were further boosted by the fact that Bayern Munich were not allowed any of their own supporters inside the ground.
Ahead of the visit of Porto in the previous round of the competition, Arteta called on the Arsenal fans to generate a hostile and passionate atmosphere. He will have expected more of the same on this occasion and the crowd certainly delivered, even if his players floundered somewhat. Though, they were able ot fight back after the break as Leandro Trossard grabbed an equaliser.
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Ally McCoist blown away by Emirates Stadium atmosphere
Ally McCoist was certainly impressed by the noise levels in North London. Commenting upon it early in the match, the TNT Sports (09/04/2024, 20:25) pundit said, “the change in the atmosphere here in the last 18 months to two years has been clear for everyone to see…it seems to have gone to a new level this evening.”
Since his appointment as Arsenal manager in December 2019, at which point there was a poisonous rift between the club and the supporters, Arteta has made it his mission to heal that divide.
Whilst there is clearly still work to be done on the playing side of things when it comes to rising to occasions such as this, the bond between Arsenal and the fans is now worthy of the elite tier.