It’s said that 2-0 is the most dangerous scoreline. Not the challenge of overcoming being 2-0 down, in fact the steps to take after going two goals to the good. Push for more, or sit back? Confusion can ensue, and comebacks follow. 

For Arsenal Women in Munich, a calamitous 45, or even just 23 minutes saw that 2-0 cliché fulfilled to full effect, to the dismay of their 400 travelling fans and those watching on from home in disbelief.

The headlines, or so we thought, were being written by half-time. This appeared to be the perfect response to the injustice of Stina Blackstenius’ disallowed goal against Chelsea, a game Arsenal deserved to get more from. Champions League nights bring something out of this side- there’s no doubt, and it was on display in the first half.

How to explain, then, the collapse? Bayern applied some pressure after half-time and Arsenal had to get through a testing spell. Come the hour mark, it was still 2-0, and should have been a case of seeing it through for Renee Slegers’ side.

However, Arsenal don’t win in Germany. Assistant coach Kelly Smith scored a hat-trick, with Ellen White also on the scoresheet, in the Gunners’ only victory on German soil in 11 attempts- 4-3 against Turbine Potsdam in 2012. Perhaps the scars remained from last season’s 5-2 rout in Munich, even if Arsenal won the home group game at Meadow Park.

In August 1999, Arsenal Ladies lost their opening Premier League match of the season 3-2 to Tranmere Rovers after going 2 goals up.That’s the only other record I have of the Arsenal Ladies/Women losing a game after going 2-0 up.

— Adam Salter ?? (@Adam_Salter4) November 12, 2025

The substitutes made the difference for Bayern, as the scoresheet shows. 18-year-old Alara Sehitler met Klara Buhl’s cross to halve the deficit in the 67th minute, with Arsenal’s trend of conceding to counter-attacks continuing. 

This should have been a wake-up call for the defence to drop, high pressure to cease in intensity and a case of game-management. Away in Europe, against a good side, it’s a case of getting the job done. Arsenal are the Champions of Europe, but this was a final 23 minutes that slapped of naivety and a mental fragility.

If scars of Munich (and Jonas Eidevall’s penultimate game in charge) were indeed lingering, the introduction of hat-trick hero on that night, Pernille Harder, would have struck real fear into the Arsenal defence. And rightly so, the former Chelsea striker continuing her form against the Gunners with a sublime dipping half-volley into the top corner. All square, but only one team was poised to go and snatch maximum points.

The remarkable thing about this defeat was its contrasts. Arsenal were outstanding in the first half, and should have been more goals to the good. For their attacking threat, the likes of Lotte Wubben-Moy looked in cruise control in defence, and the Gunners’ swagger appeared to be back. Mariona Caldentey’s super strike will fade from memory, because this was a display that turned on its head completely.

If Arsenal were lacking leadership, it was perhaps pertinent that the decisive goal was struck by Bayern’s captain, the experienced Glodis Viggosdottir. It was clever movement from the Icelandic centre-back to burst past Wubben-Moy and find the net, and the 15,000 home fans could barely believe their luck.

“What [Bayern] start to do especially after their 2-1 goal, I think they start to play in behind and they start to play a long ball, second ball game and they stack numbers high, and we don't deal with it well enough.” This was Slegers’ view, but why didn’t Arsenal adapt? Her substitutions lacked impact, and changed a side that was clearly getting the job done, whilst Jose Barcala’s changed the game. 

Teams will now be fully aware of a blueprint of which to attack Slegers’ Arsenal. A lack of control in midfield is apparent whenever Kim Little is absent, and as numerous sides have proven, a defence short of pace can be undone by direct, counter-attacking football. Arsenal have to find a balance, and fast.

“Accept how you feel, I think that's the best strategy,” Slegers told the Gooner Fanzine about how to manage emotions going into Sunday’s North London Derby.

“Then it's going to demand a lot of self-management for players and staff to turn things around but I think having something new to look forward to is actually a good thing. 

“So there is no other option, we have to be in here and now, we can't think about the past and what's happened, we have to be in here and now, we have to start preparing for Tottenham.”

Arsenal have now failed to beat Chelsea, Manchester City and Manchester United in the Women’s Super League, and lost to Lyon and Bayern on the continent. For a club and fanbase with ambitions to be and therefore beat the best, it’s been an unacceptable start to 2025/26.