Olivier Giroud struck two minutes after coming on as a substitute and Mesut Ozil scored with almost the last kick of the game to give Arsenal a 2-0 win over Bayern Munich and kickstart their Champions League campaign on Tuesday. Giroud replaced Theo Walcott after 75 minutes and headed in a Santi Cazorla header from close range in the 77th minute of the Group F match at the Emirates Stadium after the otherwise superb Manuel Neuer flapped at the ball to put Arsenal on their way to their first win after losing their opening two games. Ozil scored with virtually the final kick when his shot just crossed the line before being scooped out of the goal by his World Cup-winning team mate Neuer. That outcome never looked likely, though, against the German champions who forced Arsenal back for long periods of the first half and totally controlled possession for most of the second half until Giroud scored. The result ended Bayern's run of 12 successive wins in all competitions and kept Arsenal in the fight in the group. Bayern and Olympiakos Piraeus have six points apiece, Dinamo Zagreb and Arsenal three each. "They dominated the game, we knew they would do that but finally we managed to score and then finished with Mezut's goal," Giroud told BT Sport. "We played against a fantastic team. (The win) is nice for the future." The highlight of an outstanding first half of superb football came in the 34th minute when Neuer made a brilliant stop, leaping low to his left to save a powerfully executed, goalbound close-range header from Theo Walcott. Neuer had earlier pushed away another shot from Ozil, while at the other end Petr Cech blocked a point-blank shot after 11 minutes from Thiago, then tipped another effort from the electrifying Douglas Costa away for a corner after Costa had capitalised on a mistake in midfield by Alexis Sanchez. Although there were no goals before the break, both teams produced football of the highest quality with Bayern's relentless attacking, prompted by Arturo Vidal and Costa, penning Arsenal back for long periods, but Arsenal looking dangerous every time they counter-attacked. The pace never relented from the kickoff, which some 300 Bayern fans missed as they staged a "stay-away" for the first five minutes to protest over the cost of a ticket for the match, but when they took their seats, applause rang around the stadium from both home and visiting supporters. (For more sports news andupdates, followAhramOnlineSportson Twitter at@AO_Sportsand onFacebookatAhramOnlineSports.) http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/161436.aspx
