LONDON: Goals from Olivier Giroud and Mesut Ozil helped Arsenal end a run of two consecutive defeats in the Champions League with a morale-boosting 2-0 victory over Bayern Munich on Tuesday.
Arsenal knew that victory in at least one of its next two matches against Bayern would be vital for advancing from Group F, and it managed to inflict a first defeat of the season on Pep Guardiola's side.
Arsenal now has three points in the group and is third after three matches, with Bayern staying top on six points. Olympiakos is second on goal difference with six points after beating Dinamo Zagreb 1-0.
Substitute Giroud gave Arsenal the lead when he bundled the ball into the net on the 77th minute, after Manuel Neuer rushed off his line and failed to claim a free-kick into the penalty area from Santi Cazorla.
Ozil sealed the win in stoppage time, converting a cross at the byline from Hector Bellerin. Neuer hooked the ball away, but only after it had crossed the line.
Bayern controlled possession throughout the first half at the Emirates Stadium and Arsenal relied on saves from Petr Cech to deny Thiago Alcantara and Douglas Costa.
Yet for all the German side's dominance, it was Arsenal which went closest to taking the lead before halftime.
Nacho Monreal delivered a precise cross from the left in the 33rd minute, finding Theo Walcott unmarked on the six yard line.
The striker flicked a header at goal, only for Neuer to make an astounding one-handed save to claw the ball off the line.
Cech came to Arsenal's rescue again in the second half, making a opening one-handed save when Robert Lewandowski was through on goal in the 75th minute. It was a particularly vital block, as Arsenal got the free kick which resulted in the first goal in its next foray forward.
Arsenal next faces Munich in Germany in two weeks' time.
There could be trouble from UEFA before then, following a protest about ticket prices.
Hundreds of seats were left vacant in the Bayern supporters section for the first five minutes of the game, with two signs placed across the rows of seats which read "£64 a ticket but without fans football is not worth a penny."