Arsenal recorded a 2-2 draw against Bayern Munich in their Champions League quarter-final first-leg encounter at the Emirates Stadium on Tuesday night.
The Gunners, fresh off going top of the Premier League table at the weekend, hosted Thomas Tuchel’s charges in north London.
Things began well enough for Arsenal, who took the lead in the 12th minute thanks to an outstanding curling effort from Bukayo Saka.
However, the visitors didn’t need long to equalise, with former Gunners talent Serge Gnabry striking back in the 18th minute.
Leroy Sane took possession of the ball following a poor pass from Gabriel Magalhaes meant for Jakub Kiwior, and he played Leon Goretzka in behind Declan Rice.
Goretzka then spotted the run of Gnabry, who duly connected with a first-time finish past David Raya in the Arsenal goal for the leveller.
Sky Sports pundit Steve Sidwell wasn’t impressed by how the 26-year-old made such a error “under no pressure”, which led to the equaliser.
“It’s poor play from Gabriel under no pressure,” Sidwell said on Soccer Special. “It is against the run of play. It’s Bayern’s first attack but it shows the clinical players they’ve got.”
Arsenal bounce back after shaky spell to secure draw with Bayern Munich
Then, in the 32nd minute, Harry Kane converted a penalty that William Saliba had conceded after bringing down Sane in the Gunners box.
However, Arsenal managed to stop Bayern from scoring a quickfire third thanks to a superb Ben White challenge on Leroy Sane.
This proved crucial for the Gunners, who went on to equalise through Leandro Trossard in the 76th minute of the match.
Arsenal then thought they had a solid penalty shout in injury-time after Saka went to ground under pressure from Manuel Neuer in the box.
However, the referee refused to award a spot kick, leading to remonstrations from the Gunners contingent, including Saka himself.
And so it finished 2-2, with Arsenal able to build on a solid enough result for the second leg at the Allianz Arena next week.
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Gabriel has been pretty much infallible for most of the season, but he will need to step it up for the return encounter.
It was certainly a learning curve for the £100,000-a-week defender against one of the strongest attacking setups in world football, but no doubt he’ll bounce back from it.
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