Daily Schmankerl: The aftermath of Germany vs. France; Mikel Arteta major reason Declan Rice chose Arsenal over Bayern Munich, others; Harry Maguire ruined Manchester United transfer for Benjamin Pavard; Arsenal eyeing Dušan Vlahović; + MORE!

Die Folgen: Germany’s 2-1 win over France (Bavarian Football Works)

In its first game since former Bayern Munich coach Hansi Flick was fired, the German national team snuck by France 2-1.

Rudi Völler’s “one-time only” cameo as manager of Germany was successful, but there will not be any chance of the legend getting the itch to remain on. Regardless, the German national team needed a win and Völler was able to guide them to one. Here are some quick hitters on the match:

• As always, let’s start with the lineup:

• For its part, France rolled out a lineup that featured many “B” squad members:

• Germany coaches simply cannot resist pushing the envelope. The inclusion of Jonathan Tah and Benjamin Henrichs was certainly a surprise. Henrichs and Tah both repaid Völler confidence with good showings.
• Luckily for Germany, some pressure was alleviated almost immediately when Thomas Müller put Die Mannschaft on the scoreboard in the 4th minute. The (sometimes) maligned Henrichs picked up the assist. Henrichs drilled a cross directly at Müller, who either played down with his “Abs of Steel” or absorbed the force with his midsection before firing a close-range left-footed rocket into the net.
• Müller turned in a brilliant performance when Germany needed him most.
• İlkay Gündoğan came off very early for Pascal Groß (25th minute) in a move that was probably more precautionary than anything else. There really was no harm in giving Groß more of a look as well.
• France was the better side in the first half, but it was oddly the kind of effort that Hansi Flick needed to keep his job. It was not pretty, it was nowhere near dominant, but it was tough, rugged style against a better team (theoretically anyway). In an odd way, it really was a battle of B-sides with some first teamers mixed in.
• He did not get on the scoresheet, but Kingsley Coman put forth a very strong effort for France.
• Marc-André ter Stegen played a heck of a game.
• Leroy Sané getting the game-winner just before the France PK was fitting. Sané is riding high right now and might be in the best form of his life.
• As clutch as Sané was in getting the game-winning goal, it was not his most active game in terms of being engaged in the attacker. Either way, he came up big when the Germans needed him to.
• One thing that seemed different was that Germany looked to be more compact than it did under Flick. The former Bayern Munich loved living and dying by his patented high-line strategy, but this group, just could not make that style work.
• It is curious with how the team seemed to rally around its current situation. Did they not like Flick? Could he no longer reach them? Will anything be different for the next coach? With the Euros not far off in the distance, Germany will need to figure it all out soon.
• Overall, it would be way premature to get excited about this. Yes, it was a very nice win, but this group of players has a lot of room for improvement — and a new coach needs to be secured. France was not exactly playing its best lineup (Germany was not either), so it is tough to really discern what this victory meant for Germany and what the loss meant for France. It beats the hell out of losing, but there is a lot of work to be done and many decisions to be made on everything from coach to players to tactics to a “go forward” strategy.

If you missed our Initial Analysis, Match Awards, or Observations give them a look:

Gunners eyeing Vlahović (Express via 90Min.com)

Dušan Vlahović spend most of the summer being linked to Bayern Munich, Chelsea FC, and others, but Arsenal FC could be ready to make a move for the Serbian striker:

Arsenal could go for Juventus striker Dusan Vlahovic in the winter.

Pavard almost made United move (ManUtdNews)

Before Benjamin Pavard left Bayern Munich in favor of Inter Milan, he almost made the the jump to Manchester United:

Manchester United were very close to signing Benjamin Pavard from Bayern Munich, but the deal was scrapped due to Harry Maguire’s decision to stay. The Red Devils were open to parting ways with Maguire during the summer transfer window, and a verbal agreement was reached with West Ham United.

However, a transfer never materialised in the end. The centre-back was unwilling to discuss personal terms as he wanted a huge pay-off to leave the club. Speaking to The United Stand, Fabrizio Romano has now revealed that Pavard wanted to come to United, and a deal was almost done on the player’s side. The reputed journalist added that United were also in advanced talks with Bayern, and were prepared to match Inter’s proposal for Pavard (€30-32 million).

The plan was to offload Maguire to sign Pavard. A transfer did not happen as a result.

He said: “Pavard wanted to come to Manchester United. The deal was almost done on the player’s side, and was advanced on club side. Manchester United were prepared to pay what Inter paid for Pavard, something in the region of 30-32 million euros. So to put the money from Maguire on Pavard, they could change their defence, but the deal did not happen because of the Maguire situation.”

Bavarian Podcast Works: Weekend Warm-up Podcast Season 3, Episode 9 (Bavarian Football Works)

Bayern Munich might be on international break, but there is still an absolute mountain of news going on with the club.

And it is not just the Bavarians, either. The German national team is set to take on France and Japan in what could be two important games in determining what future — if any — Hansi Flick has as manager:

• Analyzing where Bayern Munich is at the break.
• The case for — and against — João Palhinha making the move from Fulham FC to Bayern Munich. Also, how adding a defender is also still on the menu for the January transfer window as well.
• Addressing those bizarre rumors linking Bayern Munich to disgruntled Manchester United attacker Jadon Sancho.
• What to hope for with Germany during this international break.
• Jamal Musiala’s injury — should Bayern Munich fans be concerned?

Lewy expected to be Saudi target in January (Catalunya Radio via 90Min.com)

Robert Lewandowski was offered big money by the Saudis during the summer transfer window, but turned it down. However, the Saudis are going to persist and try again in January for the former Bayern Munich striker:

After rejecting several offers this summer, Barcelona striker Robert Lewandowski is expected to receive more bids from Saudi Arabian clubs in January.

Surely, it will be a boatload of money, but Lewandowski is very brand-focused...namely, his brand. The Poland international has long eyed up a move to MLS (specifically the Los Angeles market) for his pre-retirement years, but if the Saudis offer him an ungodly sum, it will be interesting to see what decision Lewandowski makes.

Arteta played key role in Rice deal (@FabrizioRomano)

For as much as Bayern Munich manager Thomas Tuchel tried, Declan Rice was never going to love him as much as he loves Arsenal FC boss Mikel Arteta:

Bavarian Podcast Works — Flagship Show: Season 6, Episode 9 (Bavarian Football Works)

Yes, we may be a Bayern Munich podcast, but a debacle of this magnitude deserves some special consideration. Germany were just crushed 4-1 by Japan, and Hansi Flick is a dead man walking. There is no way he can continue after a result like this, but is it all his fault? This generation of German talent has failed to demonstrate anything resembling the quality, poise, and ruthlessness of previous national team setups. So who do you blame, the coach or the players?

In this episode, INNN and Cyler discuss the following:

• Hansi Flick needs to go now — there is no way he can survive.
• The mentality problem at Germany, and how they seem checked out.
• How everything went wrong tactically for Hansi Flick versus Japan.
• Why have all the experiments gone wrong? Where did Flick fall short?
• How would a new coach — Julian Nagelsmann, Oliver Glasner, Thomas Tuchel, etc. — fix this team, if it can be fixed?
• How much blame should go to the players versus the coach?
• Where are the top quality players in this German NT setup? Where are the players who would cut it at Bayern Munich — especially in defense?
• The Borussia Dortmund connection — Niklas Süle, Nico Schlotterbeck, Emre Can, Julian Brandt, etc. — and how it drags the team down.
• Is İlkay Gündoğan the right man for Germany?
• Comparing this team composition to the 2014 team and how it comes up short.
• What’s wrong with the youth setup at Germany and should there be a complete overhaul?
• Final word — who’s at fault, the players or the coach? And should Flick go?