Arsenal full-backs Hector Bellerin and Nacho Monreal were the true heroes against Bayern Munich
Arsenal’s 2-0 win over Bayern Munich in the Champions League will be remembered for years to come. It’s not often that the Gunners come out on top against the giants in the Champions League, but Arsene Wenger is making a habit out of beating Pep Guardiola’s teams at the Emirates. After famously beating his Barcelona side in 2011, he notched a second win over another Guardiola-managed side – the first manager to do so.
While goalscorers in the form of super-sub Olivier Giroud and Mesut Ozil will get the plaudits along with Santi Cazorla and goalkeeper Petr Cech, who kept a clean sheet with some stunning saves, it was a complete team performance from the North London side that saw them win all three points.
To keep a side with the likes of Robert Lewandowski, Thomas Muller and Douglas Costa (the trio have scored 29 goals this season) from getting on the scoresheet speaks volumes about the organization and tenacity of a home side that saw only 27% possession. Although the centre back duo of Per Mertesacker and Laurent Koscielny did a commendable job, it was the full backs who deserve a huge amount of the credit.
Bellerin proves his worth against Bayern after initial struggles
Perhaps Wenger knew what he was doing when he sold Cesc Fabregas to Barcelona in 2011. With one Spaniard longing to return to his roots, Wenger prised another promising 16-year-old with immense potential.
Hector Bellerin was part of the deal that saw Fabregas return to the Camp Nou after a protracted transfer saga that lasted two years. While Arsenal fans groaned and moaned at the fact that yet another kid was signed to be developed instead of a world class signing that could walk into the first team, few would begrudge the Frenchman’s decision now.
With arguably one of his best performances coming against Bayern Munich, Bellerin has shown that he has matured into a pure attacking full back. Forget about Theo Walcott ‘switching on the afterburners’ when he makes a run. Bellerin, who broke his teammate’s club sprint record, probably pushes a button in his head that says ‘Warp Speed’.
It was all too evident when, in the final minute of a tiring game, the 20-year-old Spaniard correctly anticipated a pass from David Alaba as Bayern looked to counter. That attempted pass soon became a misplaced one as Bellerin covered more distance than the ball ever did and bravely stuck a foot out to take it past Juan Bernat. His next touch took it past a tired Thiago Alcantara and suddenly he was in the clear.
With two touches, the quick-thinking youngster had converted a customary Bayern build-from-the-back routine into a goalscoring chance for the Gunners.
Ozil may have been as surprised as anyone else. Frustrated throughout the game after being marked wherever he roamed and then asked to drop deep by Wenger to do the defensive dirty work, the German suddenly had a chance to double the lead. And double it he did when he timed his run to get on the end of a low Bellerin cross to force Manuel Neuer into making a save only after it had crossed the line.
That is not to say that Bellerin had one of his best games in an Arsenal shirt. Far from it. Brazilian winger Douglas Costa had made life miserable for him in the first half with his pace, trickery and outstanding dribbling skills. There was a reason Bayern paid €30m to acquire his services; because he could terrorize any defence on his day. He ended the first half with six dribbles, four times past Bellerin who struggled to cope with his pace on the ball.
Wenger must have kept that in mind and asked Bellerin to curb his attacking instincts – a regular feature of his game in the Premier League. Arsenal struggled to move the ball forward without that extra outlet on the right wing and Aaron Ramsey also suffered as a result, completing only 58% of his passes – the lowest pass accuracy after Walcott among the outfield players.
But after the break, it was a different story altogether. Costa struggled to get the better of Bellerin in the second half as Arsenal slowly started to build momentum. Though Ramsey’s hamstring injury may have given Wenger a headache since the Welshman covered a lot of ground – both in attack and defence – Guardiola decided to shift Costa to the other flank to attack Monreal.
That would prove to be a big mistake.
Nacho Monreal steps up against Europe’s best
No defender has improved by leaps and bounds in the last 18 months at Arsenal as much as Nacho Monreal has. The 29-year-old left back has also pushed regular starter Kieran Gibbs out of the XI and has consistently put in solid performances. The Spaniard is un-droppable at the moment and, although he doesn’t get the credit he deserves, he has quietly gone about his business without a fuss and has rarely been pulled up for errors leading to goals.
Guardiola clearly thought he was the weakest link. In-form Thomas Muller was tasked with taking on Monreal and the German forward came out second best in the contest. In total, he had only one key pass and one shot on goal (which was off target). A surprisingly quiet night for a player who has already scored 11 goals this season – a goal every 74 minutes – before he faced the Gunners.
Although the German provided a sublime through ball for Thiago Alcantara who saw his shot saved by Cech, he did little else. Koscielny had also helped out his left-back when Vidal tried to overload the flank. That was when Guardiola decided to shift Costa to the opposite flank when he saw that he was no longer effective against Bellerin.
When both Bellerin and Monreal play, they provide a balance to the Gunners in both attack and defence. While Bellerin is given the freedom to maraud forward time and again, Monreal is more guarded with his runs and less susceptible to be out of position.
The left-back rarely makes too many runs forward. But when he does, he ensures he makes them count. His cross for Walcott’s header on goal is a testament to that fact. He made only one cross in the entire game and if Walcott had been more clinical and beaten Neuer’s outstretched arm, Monreal would also have had an assist to his name.
With Costa no longer a threat, Bellerin was given a new lease of life and broke the shackles that restrained him in Arsenal’s half for the good part of 75 minutes.
“In the end, Hector found always the resources in the last 10-15 minutes to get on top of him and that is fantastic to see from a boy of 20 years old. I like the fact that he has that desire to get on top of his opponent until the last minute.” – Wenger
Monreal and Bellerin’s performances will hold Arsenal in good stead this season. After a shaky start to the season, three consecutive clean sheets and players back among the goals will give the Gunners a lot of confidence as they look to reel in Manchester City in the Premier League title race before the trip to the Allianz Arena – where they haven’t lost in their last two visits.