Champions League performance insights: Arsenal and Bayern's contrasting attack patterns

They shared four goals between them in their UEFA Champions League quarter-final first leg, yet Arsenal and Bayern München took different approaches in getting the ball into the final third and beyond.

Here the UEFA analysis unit breaks down the forward play of the two teams, starting with their strategies to progress to the attacking third and then looking at how they advanced into the penalty box.

Types of attack entering final third

On an evening when Bayern had their lowest share of the ball in the competition this season (40.8%), it was no surprise that Arsenal were the team whose attacking game was built more on organised possession.

Mikel Arteta's men had more actions in the attacking third than Bayern and, as the above graphic shows, more than two-thirds (68%) of their entries into the final third came during periods of organised possession (versus a low block).

Bayern, with less of the ball, relied more on springing forward quickly. As the chart displays, they looked for breakthroughs (19% to Arsenal's 2%) – in other words, playing through the high press or middle block to progress higher up the pitch – and also for counterattacks, which meant creating opportunities after regaining the ball in their own half (28% compared to just 2% from Arsenal).

The video above illustrates the difference between a final-third entry following organised possession and a breakthrough, showing first Arsenal on the ball in the lead-up to Bukayo Saka's opening goal and then a quick Bayern attack.

How the teams got to the final third

The focus of this second section is how the two sides progressed to the final third in last Tuesday's fixture – and as the chart reveals, both sought to explore space behind the last line of defence with through balls.

Additionally, we can see that Arsenal, with their greater share of possession, looked to play through the shape more than Bayern (with 14% of their progressions from inside penetrative passes). The north London side also had slightly more outside penetrations (26%) than their visitors (22%). As an additional point, Arsenal's efforts to penetrate on the outside were also reflected by the fact their wingers accounted for 40% of the balls received when their team advanced to the final third.

As for Bayern, they had a greater dependence on individual actions (28%). This was a match in which both Leroy Sané and Jamal Musiala demonstrated their ability to carry the ball – and the video above shows the individual action by Sané which brought Bayern's penalty. Overall, Sané recorded an average carry distance of 9.9m which was the highest of any player who started in the quarter-final first-leg matches.

Teams entering the penalty box

The next aspect to consider is how the teams got into the opposition penalty area – and the 'individual actions' category emphasises how the sides differed in their approach here. In Bayern's case, individual actions – of the kind seen in the previous video – accounted for more than two-thirds (67%) of their penalty-box entries.

Arsenal have individuals with the ability to penetrate defences yet they progressed via a wider variety of means – individual actions (20%), through balls (23%), crosses (27%) and even throw-ins (17%).

This third video offers an example of a through ball from the English side with the angled pass by Declan Rice beyond the Bayern backline for Saka to run onto. For the record, Rice ended the match with the joint-highest number of line-breaking passes into the attacking third alongside substitute Oleksandr Zinchenko (five each).

As observed in this previous article by UEFA match observer Rafael Benítez, Arsenal's high pressing and energy were other significant features of their performance against the German champions. This is seen in the additional fact that two-fifths (41%) of Arsenal's shots came after they had won the ball in the opposition half (33% from pressing regains, 8% from transitions).

Arsenal’s right-flank focus

In his analysis, Benítez also highlighted Arsenal's productive efforts along their right flank, particularly in the opening period. "With [Martin] Ødegaard on the right, between the lines, and with [full-back Ben] White higher even than Saka sometimes, they were a threat," he said. The 3D animation above emphasises this point, showing that more than half (57%) of the home team's penalty-box entry attempts came on the right side (lane 4).

The final video below gives an example of this right-sided threat, showing White high up the pitch as he collects a pass from Kai Havertz and gets in an attempt on goal in the opening period.