More heartbreak for Arsenal

2005-03-10 08:25

London - A superb Thierry Henry goal was not enough to spare Arsenal from another year of under achievement in Europe on Wednesday as Bayern Munich held out to squeeze into the Champions League quarter-finals 3-2 on aggregate.

Henry's opportunist strike mid-way through the second half earned the Gunners a 1-0 win on the night and ensured there was suspense right to the final whistle at Highbury.

But the Gunners ultimately pulled up a goal short of what was required after a 3-1 defeat in Munich in the first leg.

Arsenal never seriously looked like claiming the 2-0 win that would have put them through on the away goals rule.

Bayern had scarcely broken sweat by the time Henry's goal made things interesting and despite a few jittery moments late on, certainly deserved to progress over the two legs.

The way the tie was poised, Arsenal knew they had to balance attacking intent with caution not to concede a goal.

They got the caution bit right but such was the lacklustre quality of their attacking play that it was not until the mid-way point in the first half that they managed a shot on goal.

Even then, Patrick Vieira's volley from the edge of the area did not require a save from Oliver Khan.

That represented a rare sortie out of their own half for the Gunners, who were relieved to see an unmarked Michael Ballack shank his shot wide from 14 yards in the 26th minute.

Khan finally had a shot to make five minutes before the break, when Henry cut into the box from the left and attempted to beat the Germany goalkeeper from a tight angle. Khan spread himself and smothered the danger but Arsenal had at least finally given an indication of where a goal might come from.

With the Germans looking comfortable, Wenger introduced Robert Pires and Cesc Fabregas just over the hour mark in the hope of improving the service to Henry and Dennis Bergkamp from midfield.

It was to be left-back Ashley Cole however who set up Henry for the 66th-minute goal that transformed the match.

From deep inside his own half, the England international launched a long ball over the top of Bayern's centrebacks. Henry's first touch, with his right foot, brought it under control at the corner of the six-yard box. The second, with his left, swept the ball into the opposite corner of the net, leaving Khan with no chance.

Having apparently being cruising, Bayern suddenly found themselves treading a high wire.

The frustration was evident as Ballack clattered into Vieira, earning himself a yellow card for his trouble.

But the Germans quickly regained their composure and their was a more positive contribution from Ballack with quarter of an hour left, when he jinked his way to the edge of the box and drew a fine save from Jens Lehmann.

The closest Arsenal came to snatching a decisive second was with Kolo Toure's header, which was acrobatically turned over by Kahn although it looked to be going over the bar in any case.

- AFP