By Samuel Akpan
Declan Rice’s clinical 82nd-minute finish beyond Manuel Neuer from an acute angle, set up by Noni Madueke and Viktor Gyokeres, rescued Arsenal from a first defeat in 14 Champions League games as they fought back to draw 2-2 with Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena.
Kicking off in a raucous Allianz Arena atmosphere, Arsenal passed the ball well and worked it into the penalty area a couple of times in the first five minutes, with Kai Havertz pulling back for Bukayo Saka who was crowded out in a dangerous spot.
That proved Saka’s final action as a non-contact injury forced him off after nine minutes, with Eberechi Eze replacing him and scoring the opener in similar style from a Martin Odegaard pass before some early momentum was lost.
Arsenal soon rebuilt with Riccardo Calafiori blazing over from an unmarked Odegaard corner 20 minutes in, as Bayern immediately countered and outnumbered them with Serge Gnabry – who played 18 times for Arsenal more than 10 years ago – seeing his low shot easily saved by Rayan.
Harry Kane spearheaded Bayern Munich’s comeback by providing an assist and scoring the decisive goal.
With this strike, he has now found the net in each of his last 10 consecutive Champions League appearances—a remarkable scoring streak against Union Saint-Gilloise, PSV, Atalanta, Real Madrid, PSG, Bodø/Glimt, Viking, and Arsenal.
Kane now stands on the brink of history, needing just one more goal in his next match to equal Cristiano Ronaldo’s record of 11 consecutive scoring games in the competition.
Currently, Ronaldo and Kane are the only two players in Champions League history to net in 10 or more straight matches.
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