Mesut Ozil: celebrates second goal

Bayern Munich dominated proceedings at the Emirates Stadium in London on the third day of UEFA Group F matches, but it was Arsenal, hungry for points that stole victory.

The first came on the 77th minute  when Bayern goal- keeper Manuel Neuer failed to catch Santi Cazorla’s free-kick which led to Olivier Giroud heading in the opening goal, three minutes after the France striker had come on for Theo Walcott.

Then came  Mesut Ozil’s second goal in the extra minutes of the game, which required goal line technology to decipher, again because Neuer caught the tapped ball after it had crossed the goal line.

The match went just as predicted.  Arsene Wenger had said his boys wanted badly to win the match. And Pep Guardiola, coach of Bayern had said almost resignedly that Arsenal could win because they were hungry for victory.

Arsenal players celebrate

Arsenal had lost two of their group matches, one at home to Olympiakos, 2-3 and away to Dinamo Zagreb, 0-2, and Tuesday’s match was the only hope that they could get their Champions League back on track.

Said Olivier Giroud: “We did well until the goal and defended really well. Bayern will have the ball, they are very good in possession and they finish with 70% of the ball. They dominated the game but we knew that and we were able to finish it off. We needed this win to stay in the Champions League and to try and qualify for the next stage.

Bayern keeper , Manuel Neuer stops Walcott’s  goal bound header

“We needed this win to stay in the Champions League and try to qualify for the next stage. We have to thank Petr Cech too – he had a fantastic game,”

And Philipp Lahm, captain of Bayern quipped:   “In the decisive moments of the game, we failed to score. Arsenal were very dangerous on counterattacks. They are the strongest opponent in our group.”

Despite the victory, Arsenal are still bottom of the group, sharing same points with Dinamo, who lost at home 0-1 to Olympiacos.

Olympiacos are second with six points behind Bayern, who also have six points, but have a superior goal advantage.

Brown Ideye, Nigerian international who plays for Olympiacos, defined the difficult tasks ahead for all the teams in the group:

“With three more games to play. Everybody can win or lose a game in this group as proved today. We have to show the same level of attention and dedication in the remaining matches.’