Arsenal still carry demons, perhaps not just in Europe

It wasn’t supposed to be this hard. In the opening 15 minutes, it didn’t look as though it was going to be this hard. In the end, it could have been a lot worse for Arsenal and a draw still gives them a reasonable chance of progression to the semi-final. They did have the wherewithal to find an equaliser. They got away with it. But the bigger issue is how they allowed a game they were dominating to slip from their grasp.

A penalty shootout win against Porto was evidently not enough to banish Arsenal’s European demons. But those demons are perhaps not confined to the Champions League. This has been a highly impressive season for them, a clear improvement on last year. But one doubt remains: when the going is good, Arsenal are very, very good, but what happens when things go awry?

As it had been against Brentford, so it was against Bayern. In both games, Arsenal seemed in complete control and in both they conceded against the run of play thanks to a goalkeeping error. David Raya’s mistake was less obvious than Aaron Ramsdale’s, but his needless charge from his area initiated the chaos that led to Serge Gnabry’s goal.

Early on, it was startling just how much quicker Arsenal were than Bayern. This it seemed, was the familiar Premier League advantage of intensity against European sides, only more so. But one self‑inflicted goal conceded led to another and suddenly Arsenal had a game to chase; having proved their technical and physical credentials, they then had to demonstrate their character, to answer the one question that has remained since the December defeats by Fulham and West Ham.

A lot has changed in the seven years since Bayern last played at the Emirates. They have won the Champions League, have plateaued and are