Alphonso Davies scores for Bayern Munich, starts at left wing vs. Arsenal in Champions League clash
Alphonso Davies playing left wing was a surprise development when Bayern Munich lined up against Arsenal for a highly-anticipated Champions League clash, but it proved to be the right decision. With Michael Olise suspended, former Arsenal man Serge Gnabry started on the right wing, and Davies was selected to start on the left, rather than bringing in Lennart Karl or starting Luis Díaz - who had a hat trickin Bayern's 6-1 win over RB Leipzig on Saturday.
After Arsenal took the lead took the lead in the 25th minute through Eberechi Eze, Davies tied it 10 minutes later with a striker's finish - tucking the ball past the oncoming David Raya after Harry Kane picked him out with one of the best passes you'll ever see. Eze brought down a brilliant pass from Martin Ødegaard before bouncing a low shot into the bottom-right corner to open the scoring.
It was called back at first for offside, but after a check with the VAR, he was kept onside by Josip Stanišić - who was filling in for Davies at left-back. Eze had only come off the bench 15 minutes earlier when Bukayo Saka was forced off with an early injury.
Davies looked lively in a position where people have always known he can play, but that has been on the backburner for most of his career as he established himself as one of the sport's premier left-backs. An Arsenal backline that is resolute but not necessarily known for its speed struggled in certain moments against Davies' surging runs down the left flank, as well as the movement in the box of Kane, who has killed the team he grew up supporting throughout his career.
It's Kane's playmaking that grabbed the headlines in this one, ahead of a potential Ballon d'Or win next week. ØDEGAARD WITH THE VISION, EZE WITH THE FINISH!
🎯🔥 A brilliant ball from the Arsenal captain finds Eberechi Eze, who keeps his cool and slots it home to put the Gunners ahead against Bayern! Arsenal did go on to win their first Premier League title in years, while Bayern won the Bundesliga crown once again, as they are favoured to do every season.
Both have ambitions of European glory next, Arsenal for the first time and Bayern for the first time since 2020. It was Kane's brace last week against Viking FK that turned around an unlikely 2-0 first half deficitin an eventual 3-3 draw, while he also had a goal and assistin a 5-0 win over Bodø/Glimt on matchday one.
Davies also scored in the latter match, and starts against Arsenal after being an unused substitute in Saturday's thrashing of Leipzig. Kane scored Bayern's fifth in that match, where a Diaz hat trick led the way to a major win at Allianz Arena.
Michael Olise was not be available for this one after being sent off against Viking for picking up two yellow cards within seconds of each other. Captain Joshua Kimmichwas ruled out on Wednesday morningdue to a death in his immediate family.