Leandro Trossard scored a late leveller to help Arsenal secure a 2-2 draw against Bayern Munich at Emirates Stadium in the Champions League quarter-final first leg on Tuesday.
At the end of the match at the Emirates Stadium, Trossard came off the bench to tie the score after former Tottenham striker Kane gave Bayern a 2-1 lead with a first-half penalty.
The 60,000 sold-out crowd was relieved to be able to concentrate on a thrilling match following this week’s boost in security at Champions League games.
Threats against stadiums hosting the quarterfinals this week were issued by a media site that supports the Islamic State organisation.
The bodies that oversee European football, UEFA, acknowledged that they were aware of the threats, but the matches at the Emirates Stadium and in Madrid, where Real Madrid drew with Manchester City, both proceeded according to schedule.
Bukayo Saka gave Arsenal the early lead, but former Gunners winger Serge Gnabry levelled the score for Bayern.
During his tenure with Tottenham, Kane set a record for the North London derby by scoring 14 goals against Arsenal, which made him an obvious target for taunting from Gunners supporters.
In his first season with Bayern, Kane scored his sixth goal of his career at the Emirates, making him 39th overall. It appeared that the England captain would come out on top.
However, Trossard’s stunning intervention left the tie in a precarious position before the second leg takes place on April 17 in Munich.
This season, Arsenal has been incredibly successful in the Premier League, but Bayern is about to lose the German title for the first time in twelve years due to a harsh domestic campaign.
Arsenal, however, who is participating in the Champions League quarterfinals for the first time since 2010, was atypically tentative at points and will be happy to have survived with any chance of winning a maiden European Cup.
In keeping with their bad record, Bayern got off to a shaky start. Alphonso Davies was booked right away for a challenge on Saka, which resulted in the Canadian defender being suspended for the second leg.
The Bayern manager Thomas Tuchel had referred to Mikel Arteta’s club as “the best team in the Premier League” because of their intensity and poise after they took the lead in the 12th minute.
Saka won the ball deep in Bayern’s half to initiate Arsenal’s heavy press, and Ben White’s follow-up pass found the England winger in the vicinity.
Saka scored his 18th goal of the season in all competitions with an accurate drive that flashed low past Manuel Neuer and into the far corner.
However, six minutes later, Tuchel’s team took advantage of an infrequent instance of Arsenal naivety to equalise.
Gabriel Magalhaes of Arsenal gave up the ball clumsily, and Bayern stormed ahead with to well-timed crosses from Leroy Sane and Leon Goretzka, who found Gnabry, who skillfully curled his shot past David Raya from 12 yards.
In the 32nd minute, Raya had to retrieve the ball from his net once more, marking Arsenal’s first home loss in the Champions League this season.
The only thing that stopped Leroy Sane’s brilliant run through the centre of the flat-footed Arsenal defensive was a penalty awarded for a hard challenge by William Saliba.
With jeers echoing throughout the Emirates, Kane composed himself to send Raya the wrong way from the spot and then grinned widely as he made his way back to the centre circle.
Arsenal’s sluggishness was broken by Arteta’s brilliant tactical substitution of Trossard and Gabriel Jesus in the second half, which allowed Arsenal to rally for an equaliser in the 76th minute.
With a brilliant run into the Bayern area and a pinpoint pass to Trossard, who cheerfully tucked a nice finish past Neuer, Jesus set the whole thing in motion.
When Neuer caught Saka in a fitting finish for a tie on the verge of collapse, Arsenal was incensed not to be awarded a penalty in the closing seconds.
Photo by EPA/ANDY RAIN
