After Match Day 5 of the ECL League phase, only one club has a perfect record. The Gunners look stronger as time goes on. Bayern had been the class team of Europe, going undefeated this season until Wednesday. They looked pretty good through the first half at the Emirates too, but after the break, Arsenal throttled them. The scoreline was richly deserved. Rice was awarded MOTM for his dominance in midfield, but there were a lot of stellar performers on the night. The goals came from Timber (from a corner), Madueke (Calafiori assist), and Martinelli (lightning counter). That the latter two were just coming back from injury spells made it all the sweeter. Odegaard got some minutes too. The only downer was a calf problem forcing Trossard's withdrawal. We still have some big absences: Havertz, Gyokeres, Jesus, Gabriel. But they are all close to returning to action, which is a scary prospect for any opponent.
Arteta got his tactics right again. Recognizing the Bavarians' potent offense, we let them have the ball for most of the first half. After we got the goal, they struck back with a lovely sweeping move that caught us out. The second half saw us go man-to-man as Bayern had been all game, and the men in home red and white were better. I don't think they had a shot on goal--maybe not a shot at all. Prolific scorer Harry Kane was anonymous. Cue the "best team in Europe" talk from the pundits. Arteta is not having it, correctly noting that the season is young.
This looked to be a tough stretch, with Spuds, Bayern, and Chelsea within seven days. Two down and one to go. Chelsea is also playing very well, and will have Cole Palmer back for the game at the Bridge on Sunday. Both squads will be confident, but I think we ought to get the three points.
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