'Not good enough': Slegers' fury at collapse

Arsenal needed a performance and a result against a European powerhouse but Renée Slegers’s side collapsed, relinquishing a 2-0 advantage to Bayern Munich far too easily to plunge their Champions League defence into tricky waters.

- Suzanne Wrack

Slegers called the defeat a “big hit”. The head coach said: “We’re not happy, it’s not good enough, we can’t concede three goals so late in a game against Bayern when we have a 2-0 lead.”

Last season, a comeback from 2-1 down to a 3-2 victory against Bayern in their final group game avenged their opening 5-2 defeat by the Bavarian side and kickstarted a phenomenal run to the final. It marked a turning point in their season, demonstrating a mental toughness that carried them to a second Champions League title. Their meltdown here showed they are yet to recapture the spirit that ensured success in May.

More than 400 Arsenal fans had made the trip to Munich, many filing into Hofbräuhaus, the city’s famous beer hall, before the game for their pre-match meetup, ready to try to outdo the 15,000-strong home crowd.