Bayern Munich use their own arsenal to hammer Gunners

With revenge on their mind, Bayern Munich hammered Arsenal 5-1 in Wednesday's Champions League match. The Bavarians received goals from four different players, and the match marked the return of Medhi Benatia from injury.

Bayern opened the scoring in the eleventh minute. With Arsenal sitting deep in their penalty area, Kingsley Coman found Thiago Alcantara at the top of the box. Arsenal attempted an offside trap, but Robert Lewandowski read it perfectly. Thiago lofted the ball over the backline, and Lewa headed it past Cech for the 1-0.

On the restart, Arsenal came back down the field and Mesut Ozil knocked in a cross to level the score. However, the referee behind the goal spotted a handball from the Arsenal man. The goal was called back, and Ozil shown a yellow card.

Bayern jumped in front 2-0 at the half hour mark. Coman's shot was blocked by Mathieu Debuchy and ended up at the feet of Thomas Müller. His quick shot on the rebound deflected off of Arsenal defender Per Mertesacker and left Cech with no chance at the save.

With the first half winding down, Arsenal thought they were going to escape into the break only two goals down. However, David Alaba had other ideas. Winning the ball in the midfield against two Arsenal players, Alaba looked toward goal and ripped a shot. Cech was only able to flail at the ball, and Alaba ended the first half with a masterful goal to give Bayern the 3-0 lead.

Pep Guardiola brought Arjen Robben on for Coman ten minutes into the second half. Thirty seven seconds later he scored to give Bayern the 4-0 lead. Robben smashed Alaba's cross into the roof of the net with his very first touch of the match to give the Bavarians a huge lead with a little of thirty minutes left.

Mehdi Benatia made his return to the field in the 69th minute coming on for Jerome Boateng. He and fellow centerback Holger Badstuber started the match on the bench for FC Bayern, as both players are finally overcoming injuries.

Olivier Giroud gave Arsenal something to cheer about with a gorgeous goal shortly after Benatia arrived on the field. Giroud chested down a pass and smashed a scissor kick past Manuel Neuer to get the Gunners on the board.

With the final minutes of the match ticking away, Robben and Müller each had one-on-ones against Cech, but neither player were able to hit the back of the net. However, Müller finally grabbed his brace with a quick shot that beat Cech in at the near post.

Bayern top the group table on nine points. While Olympiacos also has nine points, they are well behind the Bavarians on goal differential. Arsenal and Dinamo Zagreb sit tied on three points after the first four matchdays.

Match Details

Bayern Munich 5-1 Arsenal

Bayern Munich: Robert Lewandowski (11), Thomas Müller (29, 89), David Alaba (44), Arjen Robben (55)
Arsenal: Olivier Giroud (69)

Bayern XI: Neuer; Alaba, Martinez, Boateng (Benatia 69), Lahm; Alonso; Coman (Robben 55), Thiago, Müller, Costa; Lewandowski (Vidal 71)

Arsenal XI: Cech; Debuchy, Gabriel, Mertesacker, Monreal; Coquelin, Cazorla (Chambers 86); Sanchez, Ozil, Campbell (Gibbs 59); Giroud (Iwobi 85)