Gareth Southgate has confirmed England captain Harry Kane will be fully fit for Euro 2024, saying the back injury which has kept him out in recent weeks has cleared up.

Fears were expressed about Kane's chances of featuring in Germany when he missed Bayern Munich's final two games of the Bundesliga season, returning to England to seek treatment on a back problem.

Kane enjoyed a stunning individual campaign in 2023-24, with no player from Europe's top five leagues bettering his 44 goals in all competitions, though he was unable to end his wait for a first major trophy.

England will hope that arrives in his new homeland in July, and Southgate is confident Kane will be in peak condition for the tournament. 

"Kane is pretty much clear now. He is quite relaxed about it. I think a sensible decision was taken not to push for the last game there," Southgate said.

"Back problems can just happen, but it is not something we are concerned about at this moment in time. 

"Our understanding of it is that it is something that is pretty much clear now."

Kane has scored 12 goals across the last three major international tournaments, netting six at the 2018 World Cup, four at Euro 2020 and two at the 2022 World Cup, with Kylian Mbappe the only other European player to equal that haul.

While Kane's incredible goalscoring feats are yet to be rewarded with silverware, Southgate says his striker is determined to put that right at the Euros.

"It won't be nice for him and I am sure he will be aware of what people will say about that," Southgate said of Kane's failure to win a trophy with Bayern.

"But his love for this challenge and desire to make this work has never wavered and he is definitely looking forward to this tournament.

"He has delivered what we thought he would deliver in terms of goals in that league and I know the club are super happy with what he has done."

Harry Kane may be a doubt for England’s Euro 2024 squad as he continues to struggle with a back problem.

Gareth Southgate is due to name his preliminary squad for Euro 2024 on Tuesday, ahead of upcoming friendlies against Bosnia and Herzegovina and Iceland. 

The England captain missed the final two Bundesliga games of the season after going off towards the end of Bayern Munich’s Champions League semi-final second leg against Real Madrid.

Thomas Tuchel confirmed prior to their final match against Hoffenheim that Kane was back in England to undergo treatment.

When later asked again about the nature of the striker’s injury, Tuchel admitted that Kane had been struggling for a couple of weeks.

"In Madrid, it was borderline. We tried injections and treatments. The back has completely closed.

"It has gotten worse and kept breaking out in small, everyday movements. There's no chance he's even training."

Kane scored 36 league goals in his debut campaign for Bayern, though due to the injury, he finished five adrift of Robert Lewandowski’s single-season goal record of 41, set in 2019-20.

The final announcement of Southgate's 26-man squad will be revealed on June 7, ahead of the tournament opener against Serbia on June 16.

Harry Kane will miss Bayern Munich's final game of the Bundesliga season after leaving Germany to undergo treatment on a back problem.

Kane has scored 36 league goals in his debut campaign in Bavaria, though he will finish yet another season without silverware, with Bayer Leverkusen having clinched their first top-flight title.

He will end 2023-24 five goals adrift of Robert Lewandowski's single-season goal record of 41, set in 2019-20, after sustaining a back injury.

Ahead of Saturday's trip to Hoffenheim, departing Bayern boss Thomas Tuchel revealed Kane had been struggling before the second leg of their Champions League semi-final loss to Real Madrid.

"Harry is being treated by his personal doctor and he is not here anymore," Tuchel said. 

"He won't be with us. In Madrid it was already touch and go."

Kane missed Bayern's 2-0 win over Wolfsburg in their penultimate game of 2023-24 last week, with Lovro Zvonarek and Leon Goretzka on target in his absence.

The news will cause concern for Gareth Southgate, who is set to name his preliminary England squad for Euro 2024 on Tuesday.

The Three Lions' final squad for the tournament – which is being held in Kane's new home of Germany – will be revealed after they face Iceland in a friendly on June 7.  

Carlo Ancelotti believes Real Madrid's Champions League semi-final second leg against Bayern Munich may come too soon for Thibaut Courtois following his recent return from injury.

The Belgium goalkeeper has missed the entire season due to a knee ligament injury, and required a further operation following a setback in March.

Courtois, who has been ruled out of Euro 2024 by Red Devils head coach Domenico Tedesco, made his first appearance of the campaign against Cadiz on Saturday, with the 31-year-old keeping a clean sheet in Madrid's 3-0 victory.

While he has been named in Madrid's matchday squad for the visit of Bayern, with whom they are locked at 2-2 in their gripping last-four tie, Ancelotti hinted he is likely to restore Andriy Lunin between the sticks.

"After such a big injury, you can’t change the plan because of a great performance," the Italian said during his pre-match press conference.

"Courtois needs time now to get to his best. He had a great game, with security and confidence, against Cadiz, but he has to get to his best."

Ancelotti also played down speculation of a rift between Jude Bellingham and Harry Kane, after the England team-mates appeared to exchange words as the Bayern striker prepared to take a penalty during last week's first leg.

"Jude is a fantastic guy, he respects everybody, and he has a great relationship with Harry Kane," the Madrid head coach added. "There are no problems."

Erik ten Hag has confirmed that Manchester United wanted to sign Harry Kane last year but were unable to bring him to the club.

The England captain joined Bayern Munich and has scored 43 goals so far in his maiden Bundesliga season.

United instead brought in Rasmus Hojlund from Atalanta, though the forward initially struggled to adapt to life in the Premier League, failing to score in his first 14 matches in the competition.

Overall, the forward has netted 14 times in all competitions, with eight of those coming in the top-flight, but Ten Hag admitted that the club did try to bring in a more high-profile striker.

Speaking to Sky Sports, he said: "This club can only have outstanding players because the expectations are so high. Manchester United is the biggest, or maybe second or third, biggest club in the world, the highest fanbase, so expectations will always be there.

"Everyone has an opinion about Manchester United and it can only be outstanding players.

"That's players who have all the skill set, that is the physical and especially the mental skill set they need to perform and contribute because we have to win every game. There's an expectation around every game from us so you can only fulfil that expectation when you have those outstanding players.

"But in the last decade and in this period, we couldn't always get the players we wanted. But then you have to build, and you have to accept that you get talent in instead of players who already proved it in the past.

"We have had some choices made with talents like Rasmus Hojlund. I can see a striker who already proved it, who we want to sign, and we couldn't get him. And then we went to Rasmus because he's a talent."

When asked if the unnamed striker he was referring to was Kane, Ten Hag confirmed that the 30-year-old had been a target for them.

He continued: "Yes, and you know Harry Kane will get you 30 goals. I think Rasmus will get there, but he needs time. It's not fair to assess him the same as Harry Kane. I would never compare two players because they are very different.

"But with Hojlund, I think we had the biggest potential in the striker position last summer, and we are very happy with him. But he also needs time to adapt, and we are very pleased he showed his assets in scoring goals.

"He had a very good period where he scored many games after he showed it, but before and after, he had some physical issues, which is normal for a young player coming up. But it has a negative impact on the team result and that's what you have to accept."

Harry Kane refuted suggestions Champions League glory this season will decide the success of his Bayern Munich move, after Tuesday's 2-2 draw with Real Madrid in the semi-final first leg.

Kane scored from the penalty spot to make it 2-1 to Bayern early in the second half, just four minutes after Leroy Sane had levelled with a thunderous finish at Allianz Arena.

Having finished with his usual ease from 12 yards, Kane became the first English player to be directly involved in 11 goals in a single Champions League campaign.

Kane is the joint-top scorer across Europe's big five leagues in all competitions this season (43 – level with Kylian Mbappe), while the England captain now has the most combined goals and assists of any player (54 – 43 goals and 11 assists).

Regardless of whether Bayern can overcome Madrid in the second leg next week and go all the way in the final, Kane insists his move to Germany is a long-term mission, rather than a one-year aim for success.

When asked on TNT Sports if winning the Champions League would define his Bayern move as a success, Kane responded: "I don't think so.

"I'm here for many years, it's not just a one-off year that I've come for. Of course, the expectation at the start of the year was to win trophies and it hasn't gone our way in the Bundesliga or the cup, but the Champions League is the biggest one of them all.

"If we can somehow get our hands on that one, it'll be an amazing season, but there is a long way to go.

"These are the big games under the lights [that I'm here for]. The atmosphere was incredible. I'm sure at the Bernabeu it'll be the same. It's exactly why I’ve come, I wanted to play in these big games, these big moments, and it's no bigger than next week.

"It'll be tough, we know their history in the competition, but we can take a lot of positives from today. There's a couple of small details that we need to get right because we can get punished in a couple of quick moments, but we can take a lot from this game."

Kane now has 401 goals for club and country, having moved past the quadruple-century mark with his double against Eintracht Frankfurt on Saturday.

Including his well-taken penalty against Madrid, the former Tottenham striker now has a personal-best 43 goals in all competitions this season as well.

Yet his focus remains solely on the next game, with Stuttgart to come on Saturday before the return visit to Madrid.

"It's been a good season [personally] so far, but it's always about the next game, the next big game, and it's next week, away from home against Real Madrid," he added.

"Everything we're fighting for this year is in this competition, so we've got to find a way to get it done. It's going to be tough, the Bernabeu, Real Madrid in the Champions League, but we go there with full belief, it's 0-0 and we go there for the win."

Kane's second-half strike on Tuesday came after Sane had cancelled out an opener from Vinicius Junior, whose late penalty then ensured the shares were spoiled at Allianz Arena.

With the pressure on Bayern's spot-kick, Madrid's Jude Bellingham appeared to offer Kane a few words of advice – though the Bayern striker was in his own space preparing to face Andriy Lunin.

"I don't know what he was saying," Kane added on his England team-mate's quiet word. "I saw him there, mumbling something, but I'll have to ask him what he said.

"Once I'm in that zone I'm just trying to block everything out – I'm sure he was saying something to try and put me off. Thankfully it didn't do anything."

Bayern Munich drew 2-2 against Real Madrid in an exhilarating Champions League semi-final first leg, as Harry Kane set a new record in the competition.

Kane scored from the penalty spot to make it 2-1 to Bayern early in the second half, just four minutes after Leroy Sane had brilliantly restored parity.

That successfully converted spot-kick made Kane the first English player to be directly involved in 11 goals in a single Champions League campaign.

Kane is the joint-top scorer across Europe's big five leagues in all competitions this season (43 – level with Kylian Mbappe), while the England captain now has the most combined goals and assists of any player (54 – 43 goals and 11 assists).

Vinicius Junior scored both of Madrid's goals. His opener came in the 24th minute, with the Brazil forward coolly slotting home from Toni Kroos' delicious throughball.

Kroos, playing against his former club, played 15 line-breaking passes in the first half, at least ten more than any other player on the pitch.

Vinicius' second goal came from 12 yards, with Kim Min-jae having fouled Rodrygo in Bayern's area.

Having sent Manuel Neuer the wrong way, Vinicius marked his 31st direct goal involvement since the start of the 2021-22 campaign (16 goals, 15 assists). That is more goal involvements than any other player in that time.

Jude Bellingham was unable to wield his usual influence on proceedings, creating just one chance and failing to have a shot on what was his 32nd Champions League appearance.

Only Cesc Fabregas (34) has made more Champions League appearances before turning 21 than Bellingham has, with the former Borussia Dortmund star having moved level with Iker Casillas and Roque Santa Cruz.

At the other end of the age spectrum, Muller has now made 150 Champions League appearances for Bayern, becoming just the third player to reach that milestone for a single club in the competition, after Xavi (151 for Barcelona) and Casillas (150 for Real Madrid).

Real Madrid's Vinicius Junior scored twice, including an 83rd-minute penalty, to snatch a 2-2 draw at Bayern Munich in an entertaining Champions League semi-final first leg on Tuesday.

The Brazilian struck against the run of play when he slotted in to give the visitors the lead from Toni Kroos' defence-splitting pass after 24 minutes at Allianz Arena.

Bayern struck twice in four second-half minutes to turn the game around, with Leroy Sane threading home a powerful shot in the 53rd minute and Harry Kane edging his side ahead with a penalty soon after.

Madrid, however, earned a spot-kick of their own when Rodrygo was brought down and Vinicius coolly converted it to equalise, leaving this tie wide open ahead of next week's return leg.

Facing each other for a record eighth time at this stage of the competition, it was Bayern who started well, racking up half a dozen attempts on goal by the 15th minute with Sane and Kane coming close.

Madrid needed only one chance to score though, stunning the home crowd when Kroos sliced open the Bayern defence with a through ball and Vinicius chased it down to beat Manuel Neuer.

Kroos almost added another himself in the 51st minute but his curled shot was palmed wide by Neuer. Instead, it was Bayern who scored two minutes later with a solo effort and shot from Sane for a deserved equaliser.

Their comeback was complete in the just four minutes later when Jamal Musiala was brought down by Lucas Vazquez and Kane sent Andriy Lunin the wrong way to put the home side ahead.

Madrid, chasing a 15th European Cup, levelled in the 83rd minute with Vinicius' penalty to set up a mouth-watering return leg in Madrid next week.

The winners will face either Borussia Dortmund or Paris Saint-Germain, who meet in the second semi-final on Wednesday.

Real Madrid's Vinicius Junior scored twice, including an 83rd-minute penalty, to snatch a 2-2 draw at Bayern Munich in an entertaining Champions League semi-final first leg on Tuesday.

The Brazilian struck against the run of play when he slotted in to give the visitors the lead from Toni Kroos' defence-splitting pass after 24 minutes at Allianz Arena.

Bayern struck twice in four second-half minutes to turn the game around, with Leroy Sane threading home a powerful shot in the 53rd minute and Harry Kane edging his side ahead with a penalty soon after.

Madrid, however, earned a spot-kick of their own when Rodrygo was brought down and Vinicius coolly converted it to equalise, leaving this tie wide open ahead of next week's return leg.

Kim Min-Jae's mindless drag on Madrid forward Rodrygo afforded Carlo Ancelotti's side their leveller seven minutes from time, with Thomas Tuchel's men now needing an unlikely away win to reach the final.

Yet Tuchel will feel a draw was the least Bayern deserved, having dominated the opening stages before a remarkable second-half turnaround displayed their attacking quality in Munich.

Bayern will look to Kane once more for inspiration in Madrid given their talisman has been involved in 11 goals in the competition this season (eight goals, three assists); the most ever by an English player in a single campaign in the Champions League.

However, Tuchel may still be concerned as when avoiding defeat away from home in the first leg of a knockout stage tie in the Champions League, Madrid have progressed on 18 of the previous 19 occasions.

Harry Kane has his eyes set on Robert Lewandowski's single-season Bundesliga goal record after scoring twice in Bayern Munich's 2-1 win over Eintracht Frankfurt, though he knows he needs "to get a move on".

Kane scored in both halves on Saturday to take his tally to 42 goals this season across all competitions, also reaching the 400-goal mark at senior level for clubs and country.

The striker scored 280 of those goals for Tottenham, holding the honour of being the club's all-time leading scorer, while he is also the most prolific player in England history with 62 goals for the Three Lions.

With 35 goals in 31 Bundesliga appearances this season, Kane now has his eyes set on another piece of history.

Former Bayern striker Robert Lewandowski holds the record for the most goals scored in a single Bundesliga campaign, netting 41 times in 2020-21.

Asked about the possibility of breaking that record with just three games remaining in Bayern's league campaign, Kane said: "It's possible, but obviously I have to get a move on!

"I've got to maybe score a few goals next week. It's there, it's in touching distance. 

"It depends on the last few games of course, but it was nice to add to it today and score a couple of goals to help the team."

Bayern next host Real Madrid in the first leg of a Champions League semi-final tie on Tuesday, before travelling to face Stuttgart on Saturday.

Harry Kane scored twice to surpass the 400-goal mark for his senior career and guide Bayern Munich to a 2-1 Bundesliga victory over Eintracht Frankfurt on Saturday.

The Bavarians, who saw Bayer Leverkusen end their 11-year-Bundesliga reign by securing the league crown two weeks ago, have only the Champions League trophy to fight for with departing coach Thomas Tuchel eager to leave on a high note.

Bayern warmed up for Tuesday's semi-final first leg against Real Madrid with three points at the Allianz Arena, denting Eintracht's hopes of European qualification in the process.

They went in front with Kane tapping in after a fine run from Konrad Laimer in the ninth minute, though the Austrian had to be taken off injured later on.

Eintracht levelled in the 23rd minute with Hugo Ekitike's shot from 18 yards out but Kane restored order with a penalty just past the hour for his 35th league goal of the campaign.

It was his 400th career goal at senior level for club and country and his 42nd this season across all competitions, a personal best for the England captain.

The hosts also had to take off defender Matthijs de Ligt at half-time after he was on the wrong end of some rough challenges, potentially giving Tuchel another selection headache ahead of Tuesday's tussle with Los Blancos.

Bayern remain in second place with three games left to play on 69 points, 11 behind Leverkusen, who are in action against third-placed Stuttgart later on Saturday.

Harry Kane surpassed the 400-goal mark for his senior career as his double helped Bayern Munich beat Eintracht Frankfurt 2-1 at the Allianz Arena on Saturday.

Kane moved within one of the milestone as he put Bayern 1-0 up after just nine minutes, coolly finishing from close range after Konrad Laimer's pass had set him up.

Then, after Frankfurt levelled through Hugo Ekitike, Kane slotted home a penalty with typical aplomb following a foul on Thomas Muller to move himself onto 400 career goals and ultimately lead Bayern to victory.

Kane scored 280 of his goals in 435 appearances for Tottenham, overtaking Jimmy Greaves to become the club's all-time leading scorer when he netted for the 267th time in Spurs colours against Manchester City last February.

His tally of 213 Premier League goals, meanwhile, puts him just 47 behind the competition's all-time leader Alan Shearer, who scored 260 times for Blackburn Rovers and Newcastle United.

Kane is also the most prolific player in England's history, his 62 goals for the Three Lions coming in 89 international appearances. 

He memorably missed the chance to surpass Wayne Rooney's previous record of 53 when he blazed a penalty over the crossbar in the Three Lions' quarter-final defeat to France at the 2022 World Cup, only to clinch his place in history in a Euro 2024 qualifier against Italy three months later.

The very first goal of Kane's senior career came in League One during a loan spell with Leyton Orient as they thrashed Sheffield Wednesday 4-0 in January 2011.

That was the first of five goals Kane scored in O's colours, while he also netted nine times in a loan spell with Millwall in 2011-12 and twice during a stint with Leicester City the following season.

Harry Kane scored his 40th Bayern Munich goal of the season in a 5-1 Bundesliga thumping of Union Berlin.

After reaching the Champions League semi-finals in midweek, Bayern took a step towards securing second place in the league with an emphatic victory.

Leon Goretzka opened the scoring and Kane curled in a free-kick just before half-time to take his league-leading tally to 33.

Thomas Muller scored twice in the second half, either side of a goal from Mathys Tel, with Union limited to a late consolation effort from Yorbe Vertessen.

Fourth-placed RB Leipzig needed a late winner from Lois Openda to claim a 2-1 victory at Heidenheim.

Benjamin Sesko put the visitors ahead late in the first half but Nikola Dovedan levelled before Openda secured the points five minutes from time.

Robin Hack’s hat-trick was not enough to prevent Borussia Monchengladbach from falling to a 4-3 defeat at Hoffenheim.

Hack thought he had earned a point for the visitors when he scored twice late on after Hoffenheim had taken a 3-1 lead with goals from Wout Weghorst, Grischa Promel and Ozan Kabak.

But Anton Stach found the winner for the home side in the first minute of injury time.

Koln’s hopes of survival were dealt a major blow by a 2-0 loss to bottom side Darmstadt, who appear doomed to relegation, while Bochum remain in trouble after a 1-0 loss to Wolfsburg.

Girona’s 4-1 victory over relegation-threatened Cadiz in LaLiga ensured they will be playing European football next season.

Early goals from Eric Garcia and Ivan Martin set the tone, with Artem Dovbyk and Portu making sure of the points in the second half.

Real Betis boosted their hopes of joining Girona with a 2-1 victory away at Valencia.

Ayoze Perez scored twice for the visitors – who sit eighth, two points behind Real Sociedad – either side of a Pepelu penalty.

Celta Vigo went behind at home to Las Palmas but responded brilliantly to claim a 4-1 victory that lifts them six points clear of the bottom three.

Juanma Herzog opened the scoring but Iago Aspas netted twice for Celta along with one each from Williot Swedberg and Anastasios Douvikas.

Rayo Vallecano also eased their relegation fears, Pep Chavarria and Isi Palazon scoring in the final 10 minutes in a 2-1 win over Osasuna.

In Serie A, struggling Empoli stunned defending champions Napoli 1-0, Alberto Cerri scoring the only goal in the fourth minute.

The big match at the bottom had a dramatic finish as Diego Coppola struck in injury time to earn Verona a 1-0 win over Udinese.

Rennes kept alive their hopes of sneaking into the European places in Ligue 1 by beating lowly Nantes 3-0 but they remain four points behind Lens, who defeated bottom side Clermont 1-0 thanks to an early penalty from Florian Sotoca.

Harry Kane is ready to go into battle against Jude Bellingham for a spot in the Champions League final before the pair aim to lead England to Euro 2024 glory.

England captain Kane moved to Bayern Munich from Tottenham last year while Bellingham left Borussia Dortmund to join Real Madrid.

Both helped their respective clubs to Champions League quarter-final wins over Premier League sides on Wednesday night as Bayern beat Arsenal and Real saw off Manchester City on penalties. Bellingham scored in that shoot-out while Kane netted a first-leg spot-kick at the Emirates Stadium.

Those wins tee up a mouth-watering semi-final clash between two clubs who have won 20 European Cups between them.

Despite Arsenal and City being eliminated, meaning the first semi-final line-up since 2020 with no Premier League clubs, Kane believes there will still be plenty of English interest in how he and Bellingham fare.

“Jude has had a fantastic season, he’s a top player,” he said.

“I’m really happy for him but it will be another war against his team – but that’s the experiences that we both went abroad to try to achieve, to play in these big nights in the Champions League, to play in these big semi-finals.

“It will be one to enjoy and I’m sure there will be a lot of English fans watching both of us. We have to focus on ourselves. Of course, I’ll say hello but once we’re on the pitch, it’s business.”

Kane is still yet to win a major trophy in his career and also has the added incentive of the Champions League final taking place at Wembley on June 1, with either Dortmund or Paris St Germain awaiting the winner of Real and Bayern.

“For both of us, for sure,” Kane replied when asked if Wembley is the dream for him and Bellingham.

“With Wembley being our national stadium, it’s extra motivation there for us but there are two games ahead of us before that, which are going to be really tough so we have to focus on that.

“Real Madrid are a big club with amazing history in the Champions League so it’s going to be a really difficult game for us.

“But that’s what the semi-finals of the Champions League are all about, the biggest teams, so we enjoy this tonight and then prepare for that game in a couple of weeks.”

Arsenal’s Champions League hopes were snuffed out as Joshua Kimmich’s bullet header was enough to take Bayern Munich into the semi-finals.

After an enthralling 2-2 draw at the Emirates Stadium last week, this tie was finely poised but it was the hosts who progressed as Kimmich headed home in the second half to seal a 1-0 win for Bayern.

Thomas Tuchel became just the second man to lead three different clubs into the last four of the Champions League and his side are now closing in on a Wembley final on June 1.

Bayern showed the sort of pedigree in the competition that comes from years of being involved in the business end of the tournament – they have now qualified for 13 semi-finals and have reached the stage nine times since Arsenal’s last semi-final appearance in 2009.

Arsenal, in fact, have never won an away Champions League game from the quarter-final stages onwards and they failed to turn in the sort of performance here that would change that.

Having lost 2-0 at home to Aston Villa on Sunday to dent their Premier League title hopes, their European exploits came to a shuddering halt as Bayern’s nous eventually saw them advance.

The win also maintained England captain Harry Kane’s chances of winning silverware in his debut season in Germany, the former Tottenham striker missing out on a Bundesliga title following Bayer Leverkusen’s remarkable campaign.

Kane had a quiet evening after half a chance in the opening exchanges and it was Arsenal who enjoyed a good spell as they looked to take the lead in the tie.

Gabriel Martinelli flashed a shot wide before wiggling through a couple of challenges only to come up against the imposing presence of Bayern skipper Manuel Neuer in the hosts’ goal.

At the other end, David Raya was called into action for the first time as he saved from Jamal Musiala following a speedy Bayern break.

Neuer’s first meaningful action of the night saw him paw a deflected Martin Odegaard shot off target as he sprang up to prevent the ball running behind for a corner.

Martinelli then missed a great chance to open the scoring just after the half-hour, shooting straight at Neuer when picked out free in the Bayern box.

Bayern were fuming as they looked to catch Arsenal out after Bukayo Saka was down needing treatment and Mikel Arteta gathered his players on the touchline only for the winger to clamber to his feet.

A quick throw-in with all of the Arsenal side distracted was instead pulled back by referee Danny Makkelie, much to the chagrin of the home fans.

Bayern were second best for the majority of a largely passive first 45 minutes for the hosts, but straight after the restart they were on it, hitting the crossbar through a Leon Goretzka header before Raphael Guerreiro’s follow-up deflected against the post.

Arsenal were slightly rattled and Gabriel Magalhaes passed the ball out of play for a corner following a breakdown in communication with Raya.

Arsenal survived the resulting set-piece but fell behind soon after, Kimmich flying past a slow-moving Martinelli to power Guerreiro’s cross into the back of the net.

Arteta reacted almost immediately by turning to his bench, bringing on Gabriel Jesus and Leandro Trossard but Arsenal’s race appeared to be run.

They struggled to create any chance of note in chasing the game, taking more and more risks at the back in doing so.

This may not have been a repeat of Arsenal’s two previous visits to the Allianz Arena, both 5-1 defeats, but it showed Arsenal are still a step below Europe’s elite.

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