David Hytner was at the Allianz Arena tonight. Here’s his report. Thanks for reading this MBM.

Mikel Arteta speaks to TNT Sports. “Wow, what a game … that’s one of the highest levels we have played … the level of opposition and our level as well … two teams that wanted to attack and play … a fascinating game … we started the game incredibly well … then we lost Bukayo [Saka] who was having a great game … we had to adapt … in the second half the game was very even … they are a bit concerned [about Saka] … when a player has to come off with sharp pain it is never good news … we have to wait and see … Bayern batter every team … so I really value what the boys did tonight … it is special.”

As Kane departs the TNT interview booth, Declan Rice replaces him. “For me Kane is the clear winner [of the Ballon d’Or] … his numbers speak for themselves … the year he’s had has been remarkable … when you play with him, you realise how good he is … when you play against him, you realise how much of a pain it is … as a striker, to play that pass for that goal … he’s ridiculous … such a good player … so happy [to score] … I lost my runner and I was in on the goal … 2-2 was a good spectacle … we could have had more … we aren’t coming here to just sit … match them … go man to man … at times it’s tough … onto the next, we’ve got to keep going.”

Harry Kane gives TNT the Bayern perspective. “A little bit of disappointment … when we look at the whole 90 minutes the draw was a fair result … we had a good spell after we scored the first goal … we looked like the team that was going to win … we had a couple of moments when we could have killed the game but didn’t … we can’t be too disappointed … we take the point and move on … I’m proud of the way I executed the penalty … nice to get on the scoresheet and help the team … I always seem to get a penalty against Arsenal … overall feeling good … hopefully I can keep it up … we have to believe [we can win the Champions League] … we’re a strong enough team … we were missing some key players tonight … we play second in the league on Sunday [in fact third-place Freiburg] … you have to roll with it … try to improve as you go along … a demanding part of the schedule … it’d be a massive honour [to win the Ballon d’Or on Monday] … I’ve made it clear I don’t like to talk about myself but of course I know it’d be a massive achievement if it does happen … Monday could be a big evening for me personally … I’m looking forward to it … hopefully I can enjoy the day and evening on Monday!”

The Champions League table after matchday 3. Arsenal are in seventh spot as a result of all that; Bayern are down in 14th.

Harry Kane and Declan Rice embrace each other. The England team-mates in Full Respect mode after a to-and-fro tussle that ends with the spoils shared. It wasn’t a classic from first minute until last, but when both teams hit the heights, they really did so in style. In the first half, Martin Ødegaard and Kane took turns to set up goals with creamy, dreamy long passes from deep; Eberechi Eze and Alphonso Davies came up with the top-drawer finishes they deserved. Kane then earned and converted a spot kick that looked to have won the game for Bayern, until Viktor Gyökeres set up Rice for the late equaliser. Arsenal won’t be winning the league phase with a 100-percent record this time, but just like last season, they look like they’ll take some beating as their quest to finally land the big one goes on. Bayern meanwhile are Bayern; they’ll be there or there abouts, won’t they?

90 min +2: Rice goes long, and Tah clears. That set-piece was a surprising non-event from Arsenal’s point of view.

90 min +1: Raya goes long. Timber picks up possession just to the left of the Bayern D, and aims a power curler towards the top left. Neuer is forced to tip over the bar. Rice to take the corner.

90 min: Diaz can’t continue. Ndiaye replaces him. There will be three additional minutes.

89 min: Diaz goes down with nobody around him. Laimer puts the ball out so his team-mate can get some medical attention.

87 min: The Bayern fans are still in good voice, especially impressive seeing their team haven’t given them much to sing about for a while. Arsenal look the more likely to find a winner.

85 min: Merino, who knows a thing or two about scoring late winners, comes on for Odegaard. Meanwhile for the hosts, Brown replaces Davies.

83 min: Gyökeres barrels after a long pass down the left and nearly gets the better of Upamecano. Nearly, not quite, the big defender doing just enough to hold the striker off. But Arsenal have their tails up now!

81 min: Arsenal are hogging the ball without doing too much with it. Bayern holding their pose.

79 min: This has become rather scrappy. Arsenal won’t mind that at all. Bayern no longer in full flow.

77 min: Diaz picks up possession from Davies on the left-hand corner of the Arsenal box, and warms Raya’s palms with a next-to-no-backlift curler towards the bottom right. Fine play all round.

75 min: Bayern stroke it around patiently. Neither team seems willing to make a big move right now.

73 min: The pace drops. The Bayern fans are in good voice nonetheless.

71 min: Bischof steals the ball off Lewis-Skelley and feeds Kane, who in turn releases Davies down the left. Davies makes his way into the Arsenal box, but Madueke gets back on the cover to usher the ball out for a goal kick. Arsenal were in a bit of bother for second there, so they can be thankful to Madueke for his hard work, and to Kane for hesitating a little bit too much upon launching that counter.

69 min: … and Arsenal respond by replacing Guimaraes and Havertz with Gyökeres and Lewis-Skelly.

68 min: Bayern replace Saibari and Gnabry with Luis Diaz and Karl …

67 min: Odegaard curls the free kick into the mixer. Havartz tries to prod home from a mid a melee. He can’t do it. Bayern counter en masses, and Laimer creams a low drive inches wide of the left-hand post.

66 min: Eze one-twos with Havertz down the inside left and draws a foul from Laimer. A free kick, just outside the box to the left. Odegaard to take.

64 min: Bayern press, Bayern probe.

63 min: Raya is fouled as the corner comes in, and the pressure is off Arsenal. But Bayern are clearly in the mood for more. A big five-to-ten minutes coming up.

62 min: Davies jinks in from the left and should shoot. He overthinks it and is crowded out. That was a decent half-chance. But Bayern come again, Gnabry winning a corner down the right. Bischof to take.

58 min: Bischof pings a diagonal towards Kane on the left-hand edge of the Arsenal D. Kane heads down to Davies, who can’t get to the ball in time for a shot. But no matter from Bayern’s perspective, because …

56 min: The first lull in a long while.

54 min: Eze enters the box and drops a shoulder to get past Laimer down the left. He shoots from a tight angle. There’s a melee, and the ball’s eventually hacked clear. Both defences creaking a bit, but holding firm at the moment.

52 min: Tah plays a long pass down the left to find Saibari, who enters the Arsenal box before scuffing his shot. Saibari’s got himself into some good positions tonight, only to … well, that’s a start, though, isn’t it?

50 min: … and now it’s Raya’s turn to make an outstanding stop! Gnabry crosses from the right. Upamecano powers a header goalwards; from point-blank range, Raya somehow parry-scoops away! Two of the finest saves you’ll see in a long while!

48 min: … but Arsenal have come back out with intent, too, and Eze wins the first corner since the restart with a dribble down the left. Rice hits it long. Guimaraes wins a header at the far stick, six yards out. He plants a downward header towards the bottom right. It’s surely a goal, but Neuer somehow shovels it up off the line, off the crossbar, and away. What a save! Not quite on the Banks-Pele level, but not far off!

46 min: Kane is quickly on the ball, nearly releasing Gnabry down the middle with a route-one pass. Gabriel is on point to intercept. So close to a super-fast start to the second half for the hosts.

Bayern get the second half started. They’ve made a change, switching out Minjae Kim for Jonathan Tah.

Half-time entertainment.

45 min +1: Raya picks the corner without fuss.

45 min: Kane plays a cute pass round the corner to release Gnabry down the right. Davies is free on the left, but Gnabry opts to shoot from distance. Poor decision. His effort is deflected out for a corner, but Davies had Raya and the goal in his sights. There will be two additional minutes.

44 min: Davies is everywhere at the moment. He barrels down the left and earns Bayern a corner. Gnabry whips towards the near post, where Timber heads clear. Bayern have been much improved in the last few minutes; what a difference a goal makes.

42 min: Rice’s delivery skims off the top of Laimer’s head at the near post. The ball nearly loops into the bottom right. Calafiori tries to force it home, but can only ripple the side netting. Laimer gets away with a big one there, because for a couple of split seconds, that had own goal written all over it.

41 min: Kane shoots. Blocked. Arsenal counter. Eze crosses from the left. That’s deflected out for a corner. This isn’t going to end 1-1.

39 min: Kane is caught late by Konsa’s lunge on the halfway line. Bayern are gifted the advantage, but Davies and Gnabry aren’t able to combine as they barrel towards the Arsenal box. Rice gets in the road to nix the attack. Then Konsa goes into the book. Kane is not happy with his England team-mate.

37 min: That was a peach of a goal. What a finish! But what a pass! Good luck deciding which of the Odegaard-Eze and Kane-Davies combinations is the most outrageously good. You could spend all night debating it. The assists and finishes so far tonight have been from the top drawer.

33 min: Saibari has a dig from 25 yards. The ball flies 25 yards over the bar. Bayern already reduced to this.

32 min: Bayern are struggling to play out from the back. Arsenal’s press too much for them. A couple of long hoicks forward that come to nothing. Mikel Arteta will be delighted right now.

30 min: … and sends it long. This time it’s Guimaraes level with the far post, six yards out. He shins his volley wide left. He joins Calafiori in the Should Have Scored column, and from exactly the same blade of grass as well. Bayern haven’t dealt with these corners at all.

29 min: Bayern haven’t responded to that blow. They’ve not managed to get forward at all. And now Madueke probes down the right to win another Arsenal corner. Odegaard comes across to take …

27 min: The goal was initially ruled out for offside, but VAR double-checked and turns out Stanišić was playing Eze on. The substitute hasn’t taken long to make his presence felt. And what a pass forward by Odegaard!

23 min: Kane quarterbacks another fine long pass from deep, finding Saibari inside the Arsenal box down the inside-right channel. Saibari can’t control. Goal kick. Bayern must wish Kane could somehow launch these passes to himself.

21 min: Bayern launch a quick counter, Kane taking the goal kick, spraying a pass down the left for Davies. The ball’s shuttled to Gnabry down the inside-right channel. Gnabry enters the box and shoots low and hard towards the bottom left. Raya saves well, but that should have been a goal as well. Somewhere in the multiverse, it’s 1-1 after a short-order exchange of goals.

20 min: Odegaard swings in from the right. Neuer comes for the ball and flaps. The ball drops to Calafiori, six yards out, level with the far stick. Calafiori should score, but leans back and hoicks over. What a miss!

19 min: Madueke and Timber combine down the right to earn the second first corner of the evening. Odegaard wanders over to take.

17 min: Davies dribbles hard down the left and enters the Arsenal box. Gabriel sticks to his shoulder, so Davies can’t get a shot away from a tight angle. Gabriel flicks the ball out for a corner … but Bayern strangely don’t get it.

15 min: Kim pings a speculative pass down the left for Davies, who nearly manages to nip past Timber at high speed, only for the defender to give him a gentle tap on the back, one that causes him to take an extra step that sends both ball and player over the byline. Goal kick. Saucy defending.

13 min: Havertz goes into the book for a late slide into Stanišić. Things suddenly not going Arsenal’s way.

12 min: “Word precludes me from tuning in on Paramount+ in the States,” begins Jeff Necessary, Gunner in North Carolina, “so keeping the MBM open for occasional checks. Given the way Arsenal first halves have gone lately, I may not miss much for a while.” Well, Jeff, you’ve got that damn straight at the moment.

10 min: Saka is able to get up, but he’s limping heavily and not happy. He blows out in frustration as he hobbles off. Eze comes on in his place.

8 min: Saka spins Davies down the right, but the Canadian international comes back at his man to ensure the Arsenal winger doesn’t enter the box. Saka nips infield instead, then takes a clumsy prod at the ball before grabbing his thigh and crumpling to the floor in pain. This doesn’t look great.

6 min: Saka and Havertz combine down the inside-right channel, the latter entering the Bayern box. Havertz scuffs a cross; Saka can’t force the ball home from the middle of a melee on the edge of the six-yard box. Bayern clear, but Arsenal will be very happy with these early attacks.

4 min: Raya passes long. Timber cushions a header in from the right for Saka, who shuttles the ball further across towards Madueke. For a second, it looks like Bayern have been opened up with a couple of simple passes, but Madueke clanks into Laimer and the danger is gone.

2 min: Pinball + hot potato = shapeless first 120 seconds.

Vincent Kompany and Mikel Arteta worked with each other at Manchester City. When the former emerges from the tunnel, the pair embrace warmly and have a quick catch-up. And then Arsenal get the game started.

The teams are out! Bayern are in one of their all-red phases, while Arsenal are harking back to the early 90s with a blue version of the famous bruised banana. Vincent Kompany is in the house, by the way, having recovered from a virus that threatened to keep him in bed. And so is Germany boss Jurgen Klopp, in the stands flashing that smile and throwing his arm around the shoulder of another erstwhile Liverpool manager, Rafael Benitez. Everyone having a good time, it seems, and looking forward to this big showdown, including Arsenal fan Charles Antaki … well, kind of: “Pretty dismal, the fare served up in the game against Forest. But! Pundits have assured us that because Bayern are going to be on the attack, Arsenal will be free to entertain us with a dazzling display of skill, ambition, irresistible cheeks and above all, goals. Not much to say about that except We Shall See.” We’ll be off in a minute or two.

Mikel Arteta speaks to TNT Sports. “We’re gonna have to play, I expect, three or four different games at different stages … we need everybody ready because we need to change and adapt to that … freshness … very excited … we have talked about our enthusiasm for playing on these big stages … that’s where you want to get tested … play with a lot of courage … a lot of aggression … be decisive … we have prepared for what we have to do.”

There are plenty of other Champions League matches about to kick off tonight. Sarah Rendell has you covered in the latest edition of your super soaraway Clocko. Get on it!

Shoogly Peg news. Michael Carrick’s coat is hanging on one. The first big result of the evening is in, and Simon Burnton has all the details.

More scene-setting. Courtesy of our man David Hytner in Munich.

Look at that bench; Arsenal’s squad goes deep. Which doesn’t necessarily explain the headline below … but it can’t not help. The good people o’ Opta explain all.

Bayern are without Joshua Kimmich following a death in his immediate family. Harry Kane leads the line, while former Liverpool winger Luis Diaz is on the bench. Michael Olise is suspended following his two-yellows-in-two-minutes fiasco during the 3-3 draw at Viking.

Arsenal make two changes to their starting XI following the staunch 1-0 win at Nottingham Forest. Noni Madueke and Jurriën Timber replace Eberechi Eze and Ben White, who drop to the bench.