Trossard earns draw for Arsenal against Bayern Munich
Leandro Trossard’s second-half equaliser gave Arsenal a 2-2 draw with Bayern Munich in the first leg of the Champions League quarterfinals after Harry Kane had scored against his old rivals yet again.
Trossard rolled in a low shot in the 76th minute to make sure Bayern didn’t come away from the Emirates Stadium with another big win after Kane had put the German club ahead from the penalty spot in the first half.
The hosts had taken a 12thminute lead through Bukayo Saka and dominated the early stages until former Arsenal player Serge Gnabry made it 1-1 in the 18th following a mistake by defender Gabriel.
Kane then put Bayern ahead from the penalty spot in the 25th, but two of Arsenal’s substitutes combined for the equaliser as Gabriel Jesus teed up Trossard in the area.
The last time these two teams played, Bayern routed Arsenal 10-2 on aggregate after two 5-1 wins in the round of 16 in 2017. There was, however, a sense that things would be very different this time as Arsenal are top of the Premier League while Bayern are having their worst Bundesliga season in more than a decade and have ceded the title race to Bayer Leverkusen.
But Kane, who scored a record 14 goals in north London derbies between Tottenham and Arsenal before joining the German powerhouse this season, made sure Bayern return to Germany with at least a slight advantage for the second leg at home next Wednesday.
Kingsley Coman nearly scored a 90th-minute winner for Bayern, but his flick-on from close range hit the post, while Saka had a penalty appeal turned down in the fifth minute of stoppage time.
The game went ahead as scheduled despite an alleged Islamic State terror threat against Champions League matches this week, and there were no incidents at the Emirates before or during the game.
Bayern got the draw despite playing without any away fans in the stadium because of a UEFA sanction against the club, which meant Arsenal was able to fill all 60,000 seats with home supporters.