Harry Kane returned to north London with a goal as Arsenal’s Champions League hopes were left hanging in the balance after they fought out a draw with Bayern Munich in the quarter-final first leg at Emirates Stadium.
Kane, Tottenham’s record goalscorer, received a predictably hostile reception from Arsenal’s supporters, who saw the Gunners make the perfect start when Bukayo Saka’s low finish put them ahead after only 12 minutes.
Bayern belied their poor form in the Bundesliga to turn the game around before the break as former Arsenal forward Serge Gnabry swept home the equaliser six minutes later.
Kane’s moment arrived when William Saliba tripped Leroy Sane at the end of a blistering run after 32 minutes. The England captain stepped forward for the resulting penalty and silenced the taunts with his 15th goal in 20 appearances against Arsenal.
Mikel Arteta’s side were not at their fluent best but substitute Leandro Trossard was the beneficiary of outstanding work by Gabriel Jesus to equalise.
Arsenal felt they should have had a penalty in the final seconds of stoppage time but the referee waved away their appeals when Saka went down as he was challenged by keeper Manuel Neuer.
The Gunners were arguably also fortunate not to concede a penalty themselves earlier in the half, when Gabriel picked the ball up with his hands after the referee had signalled for a goal kick to be taken.
Several Bayern players complained at the time but the referee swiftly waved their appeals away.
The second leg in Munich is on Wednesday, 17 April.
Arsenal still have hope
Arsenal left the pitch amid a mood of disappointment and frustration after a performance that was unusually tentative.
The Gunners’ late equaliser from Trossard, who has scored six goals as a substitute this season, sets the second leg up perfectly, although Bayern will feel they are favourites at the Allianz Arena.
It rescued a respectable result from a display that lacked Arsenal’s usual fluency and defensive assurance, Gnabry’s equaliser an uncharacteristically sloppy concession starting with a mistake by Gabriel.
At the end, Arsenal were complaining bitterly that referee Glenn Nyberg should have awarded a last-gasp penalty when Saka went down but it looked like the Gunners’ forward initiated the contact with Neuer.
Whether it was big-stage nerves or not, Arsenal fell short of the standards that have taken them to the top of the Premier League.
This, in itself, will give Arsenal and manager Arteta hope for the second leg because they can perform so much better than they did here.
Bayern show their steel
Bayern Munich are locked in a season of desperate struggle on the home front, with their long-held Bundesliga domination about to be ended by Bayer Leverkusen and coach Thomas Tuchel leaving the club at the end of the campaign.
Old habits die hard, however, and the club with such a rich Champions League pedigree showed that they are always a force to be reckoned with in this competition.
Kane, inevitably, got on the scoresheet and played some glorious passes, although he was fortunate to escape stronger punishment than just a yellow card after Arsenal defender Gabriel was floored with an elbow in the second half.
Bayern, for all their poor form, still possess vast experience and the pace of Sane, Gnabry and Alphonso Davies, allied to Kane’s all-round brilliance, still makes them a stern proposition when they get it right.
They will be disappointed to concede a late equaliser but they would surely have settled for this result before kick-off.
Player of the match
TrossardLeandro Trossard
Bayern Munich
Squad number7Player nameGnabry
Squad number9Player nameKane
Squad number10Player nameSané
Squad number42Player nameMusiala
Squad number8Player nameGoretzka
Squad number15Player nameDier
Squad number4Player namede Ligt
Squad number6Player nameKimmich
Squad number1Player nameNeuer
Squad number19Player nameDavies
Squad number27Player nameLaimer
Squad number11Player nameComan
Squad number22Player nameRaphaël Guerreiro
Line-ups
Arsenal
Formation 4-3-3
22Raya4White2Saliba6Gabriel15KiwiorSubstituted forZinchenkoat 45′minutes8Ødegaard20JorginhoSubstituted forGabriel Jesusat 67′minutes41Rice7Saka29HavertzSubstituted forParteyat 86′minutesBooked at 89mins11MartinelliSubstituted forTrossardat 66′minutes
Substitutes
1Ramsdale5Partey9Gabriel Jesus10Smith Rowe14Nketiah18Tomiyasu19Trossard21Fábio Vieira24Nelson25Elneny31Hein35Zinchenko
Bayern Munich
Formation 4-2-3-1
1Neuer6Kimmich4de Ligt15Dier19DaviesBooked at 9mins8Goretzka27Laimer10SanéSubstituted forComanat 66′minutes42Musiala7GnabrySubstituted forGuerreiroat 70′minutes9KaneBooked at 55mins
Substitutes
2Upamecano3Kim Min-jae11Coman13Choupo-Moting17Zaragoza18Peretz22Guerreiro25Müller26Ulreich39Tel40Mazraoui45Pavlovic
Referee:Glenn Nyberg
Attendance:60,221
Live Text
Match ends, Arsenal 2, FC Bayern München 2.
Second Half ends, Arsenal 2, FC Bayern München 2.
Kingsley Coman (FC Bayern München) hits the left post with a right footed shot from very close range. Assisted by Jamal Musiala.
Thomas Partey (Arsenal) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Foul by Thomas Partey (Arsenal).
Jamal Musiala (FC Bayern München) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Bukayo Saka (Arsenal).
Jamal Musiala (FC Bayern München) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Substitution, Arsenal. Thomas Partey replaces Kai Havertz.
Declan Rice (Arsenal) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Konrad Laimer (FC Bayern München).
Attempt missed. Kingsley Coman (FC Bayern München) left footed shot from outside the box is close, but misses to the right. Assisted by Jamal Musiala.
Foul by Gabriel Magalhães (Arsenal).
Kingsley Coman (FC Bayern München) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Martin Ødegaard (Arsenal).
Harry Kane (FC Bayern München) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Offside, FC Bayern München. Harry Kane is caught offside.
Goal! Arsenal 2, FC Bayern München 2. Leandro Trossard (Arsenal) right footed shot from the centre of the box to the bottom left corner. Assisted by Gabriel Jesus.
Delay over. They are ready to continue.
Delay in match because of an injury Eric Dier (FC Bayern München).