Two Arsenal stars were almost guilty of committing a disastrous howler at the back against Bayern Munich on Wednesday night.
Arsenal saw their Champions League journey brought to an end by Bayern Munich on Wednesday night.
The Gunners slumped a 1-0 defeat at the Allianz Arena, allowing the German giants to progress to the semi-finals of Europe’s elite club competition by virtue of a 3-2 triumph on aggregate.
Mikel Arteta will be frustrated that his players could not produce their best form on the night in Germany. Too many of his star men failed to significantly impact the game.
Martin Odegaard was well marshalled by the hosts, Bukayo Saka was short of his best, and Declan Rice was one of three Arsenal stars to be blamed for Joshua Kimmich’s goal.
However, before Bayern Munich took the lead, Arsenal were almost architects of their own downfall in what would have been a most embarrassing fashion.
David Raya and Gabriel Magalhaes almost produce Arsenal disaster moment
As Gabriel Magalhaes sought to deal with a loose ball in the Arsenal box, he rolled a pass back towards his own goal, without realising that David Raya was off his line. The Brazilian centre-back and stranded goalkeeper could then only watch for a heart-stopping moment as the ball trickled just wide of the goal and out for a corner kick.
Sky Sports (17/04/2024, 21:20) reporter Paul Gilmour, who was watching events unfold at the Allianz Arena, stated, “Gabriel and Raya so close to making it into a comedy own goal highlights reel. Relief for Arsenal.”
Arsenal defence out of sorts against Bayern Munich
Had Gabriel’s back-pass nestled into the back of the net then it surely would have been a Champions League calamity for the ages. As it was, the Gunners were to be eliminated from the competition anyway, but the defender will still be thankful that he was not the one to self-inflict the fatal blow, even if there is a strong argument that Raya was the more at fault in this instance.
The Arsenal defence has been in exceptional form this season, but Arteta’s rearguard didn’t cover itself in glory in either leg of this Champions League tie. To a man, Arsenal looked uncharacteristically nervy at the back at times. This moment was almost a painful lesson in what a lack of composure at such a high level can result in.
