Arsenal 1 Bayern Munich 0 (Agg 2-3): A splendid goal from Thierry Henry in the 66th minute gave Arsenal a glimpse of a quarter-final place, but a collected Bayern Munich had been far beyond the reach of the Premiership club for most of the night. Though Oliver Kahn did tip over a Kolo Toure header with two minutes left, Arsene Wenger's side were never convincing.
When faith is lost it can take a long search to root it out again. The Highbury crowd was often quiet last night and there was no resemblance to the churning passion of Stamford Bridge when Chelsea beat Barcelona the previous day. Arsenal supporters are in a reflective mood over a team that has gone straight from "invincibility" to wan fallibility.
It was in keeping with the pattern that the hope of Edu returning was scotched by a cartilage injury picked up at training. Against all expectations, another candidate for the midfield holding role did return to the colours for the first time since September but Gilberto, now recovered from cracked vertebrae, was on the substitutes' bench.
Mood matters a great deal and Bayern Munich had the air of a team ensconced at the top of its league. Felix Magath's side was confident in itself and its plan. Despite holding a 3-1 advantage from the first leg, they maintained a capacity for attacking threat not only by picking Claudio Pizarro but also by including his fellow Peruvian striker Paolo Guerrero.
The pairing had rapport and smart movement as Bayern governed the first half. Martin Demichelis planted himself in the area behind the Arsenal attack that Dennis Bergkamp wanted to occupy and the centre-back Lucio was always prepared to push out to the Bayern right if Henry or the subdued Jose Antonio Reyes developed any momentum there.
The interval was a mere four minutes away when Robert Kovac tried to intercept a pass Henry had rolled towards Reyes and simply gave it straight back to the Frenchman, who raced in from the flank and drove against the legs of the goalkeeper Kahn from an angle. That was the first occasion on which Bayern had been brittle.
It did assist an Arsenal team who had previously been more likely to get into trouble than create it for Magath's players. Bergkamp, back after his red card against Sheffield United, could easily have had another dismissal here, instead of a lenient booking, when he made a dangerous challenge on Lucio.
Arsenal had every reason to be moody. Though Henry had drawn the only save of the opening 45 minutes, the six corners earned by Bayern showed how comfortably they could work their way around the pitch.
The discomfort that has nagged at Arsenal's squad since autumn could not be concealed. It was glaring when Toure intercepted a low ball from Deisler so clumsily that he put it behind his own goal.
The sketchiness of Arsenal's display was difficult to forgive. Patrick Vieira has been muted all season and there have even been patches when Henry's abilities have not rung out, but boldness in the ranks ought still to have emerged sooner.
There was no harm in risk-taking or in setting a high tempo, but it took much of the night before Arsenal were in earnest about doing either. Only after Wenger's half-time address did they apply even rudimentary pressure. It was immediately productive. Vieira, in the 54th minute, juggled the ball away from Demichelis before volleying wide from the left. Bayern were not intimidated, though, and their poise was constant before Arsenal's goal.
Arsenal needed inspiration and only one man could supply it. In the 66th minute, Henry got in behind Lucio to control Ashley Cole's pass perfectly and drive low into the far corner of the net. Bayern had to cope not only with that blow but also with the shock of finding themselves, so improbably, within a goal of elimination. Jens Lehmann would not let them relieve the pressure and, after 75 minutes, the German impressively tipped Michael Ballack's dipping attempt over. Drama, at last, had arrived.
ARSENAL: Lehmann, Lauren, Toure, Senderos, Cole, Ljungberg (Van Persie 80), Flamini (Fabregas 63), Vieira, Reyes (Pires 63), Bergkamp, Henry. Subs not used: Taylor, Silva, Clichy, Owusu-Abeyie. Booked: Bergkamp, Toure, Fabregas. Goals: Henry 66.
BAYERN MUNICH: Kahn, Sagnol, Lucio, Kovac, Lizarazu, Demichelis, Salihamidzic (Hargreaves 90), Deisler (Ze Roberto 72), Ballack, Guerrero (Linke 85), Pizarro. Subs not used: Rensing, Hashemian, Jeremies, Schweinsteiger. Booked: Demichelis, Salihamidzic, Ballack, Lizarazu. Attendance: 35,463.
Referee: M De Santis (Italy).
