“It was a chess match”: Arsenal coach Mikel Arteta describes a Champions League cage fight vs. Bayern Munich

That was a Champions League quarterfinal round for the ages.

Bayern Munich’s draw against high-flying Arsenal looked ominous. Mikel Arteta had crafted his team into Premier League title contenders and they stood as the clear Goliath in the matchup against a Bayern team facing a down year in the Bundesliga. After years of UCL losses to the Bavarians, was it time for Arsenal to take its revenge?

Not so fast. David wins that fight.

And so it played out on the field. The Gunners were outgunned and Thomas Tuchel, the Bayern coach whose campaign has been so rough he was basically sacked in February, came up with the perfect gameplan to outfox his counterpart.

“It was a chess match,” Arteta described after the game (as captured by FCBayern.com). “We dominated the first half, but we waited for mistakes to happen and Bayern did the same. We needed an element of discipline in certain areas before we could land the decisive blow, but we didn’t really have those moments. We also should have defended the penalty area better for their goal.

“You have to do that at this level, if you want to reach the last four. We were close, but congratulations to Bayern for going through.”

For a Bayern team that struggled to find its feet all year, they sure picked the right moments in this one. Joshua Kimmich came up with the goods and now it is Bayern with the chance to write a Champions League revenge script — in the semifinals vs. Real Madrid.

Looking for more thoughts and analysis on Bayern Munich’s massive 1-0 win over Arsenal FC to advance to the semifinals of the Champions League? Well, Marcus and Chuck have you covered with the Bavarian Podcast Works — Postgame Show! Check it out on Spotify or below:

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