Arsenal beat Bayern Munich on penalties after late Alex Iwobi strike
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Updated 19/07/2017 at 14:20 GMT
International Champions Cup, Shanghai Stadium - Bayern 1 (Lewandowski 8, pen) Arsenal 1 (Iwobi 90). Arsenal win 3-2 on penalties.
Iwobi celebrates
Image credit: Reuters
Arsenal defeated Bayern Munich on penalties in the International Champions Cup after a late goal from Alex Iwobi and heroic performance from Petr Cech in goal.
Cech was the star of the show as he denied Bayern on numerous occasions before he was taken off in the second-half.
Arsenal fielded a mix of summer signings, first-team players and academy prospects and it showed as there was a clear lack of cohesion.
By contrast a Bayern team containing Franck Ribery, Thomas Muller, Robert Lewandowski and new signing James Rodriguez looked stronger and fitter.
Lewandowski opened the scoring from the penalty spot but Bayern couldn’t find the second goal as they were denied repeatedly by Cech on the day Wojciech Szczesny was unveiled as a Juventus player.
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Munich's Robert Lewandowski scores their first goal with a penalty
Image credit: Eurosport
The standout save came from Muller as he readjusted superbly to tip a deflected shot behind.
At the other end Arsenal only managed to test veteran Tom Starke twice through Mesut Ozil and Alexandre Lacazette, with the save from the latter particularly impressive as he got down well to his left.
In the second-half the mass of changes slowed the game down but Iwobi was one of the few bright sparks as he continued to try and make things happen.
Right at the death he got his reward as he powered home a header to take the match to penalties.
The Nigerian calmly slotted his penalty and watched as substitute Emiliano Martinez made two saves in the shoot-out to give his team victory.
TALKING POINTS
- No Woj, no problem - First Cech during the match and then Martinez during the shoot-out showed that Arsenal have two goalkeepers more than capable of carrying them through the season even if some Arsenal fans are upset at the Szczesny sale.
- Ozil shines - The German international looked more physical than he has done in previous games and his link-up with Lacazette and Danny Welbeck was great to watch. He should have scored in the first-half but this was a good showing from a player whose future is still uncertain.
- Bayern a force - Yes they lost but were it not for Cech this would have been a customary Bayern hammering of Arsenal. James looked good and already showed understanding with his new team-mates. Bayern are going to be a real threat in Europe this season.
- Tolisso the one that got away - The most impressive performer for Bayern was either Tolisso or RIbery and the former is showing no signs of struggle in the step up from Lyon to Bayern. He was reportedly on the radar of many Premier League clubs and they have to be kicking themselves they didn't make a move earlier.
- Arsene got swag - Just check out those trainers!
WHERE NEXT FOR ARSENAL?
Arsenal's next match sees them face Premier League winners Chelsea in Beijing on Saturday.
Arsene Wenger's side conclude their pre-season preparations with matches against Benfica on July 29 and Sevilla a day later at the Emirates.
Arsenal begin their season against Chelsea in the Community Shield match on August 6.
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