3 standout Arsenal players from the 2-2 draw against Bayern Munich

Occasions like this, Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena, demand that leaders step forward to do their bit for the team.

Arsenal are lucky to have such figures in spades and almost every player who featured had a case for being included among the standout performers; from their elite defence to the fluid midfield linkups and a sharp attack, the Gunners showed critics that they are ready to push Europe all the way in the hunt for UCL glory.

3 standout Arsenal players from the 2-2 draw against Bayern Munich

Some deserve a special mention, though, for their integral roles in getting this hard-earned point and for playing at a consistently high-level week in week out. Levels do not come much higher than a trip to Bavaria yet they made it look effortless.

Here are the three standout Arsenal players from their pulsating 2-2 draw against Bayern Munich.

Standout #1: David Raya

He picked up from where he left off on Sunday night.

David Raya stood in the presence of goalkeeping royalty here but he continued to do his bread-and-butter duties with his usual ease, plucking Bayern crosses out of the air or spraying passes around as if the home press was not there.

Yet he also impressed in other areas, doing well to stop Serge Gnabry’s admittedly poor shot early on and, later, to parry a Luis Diaz effort from just inside the box. Then, Raya produced a truly world-class save to keep Arsenal in the game when he somehow reacted quick enough to paw away a header by Dayot Upamecano from point-blank range.

If he had saved the Harry Kane penalty, then the statue would already be up at the Emirates (though he needs to dive the right way first).

There are not enough superlatives in the world to capture just how much he has brought to Arsenal since his arrival. He is an outstanding goalkeeper.

Standout #2: Gabriel Magalhaes

‘Big Gabi’ looked every inch the stalwart of the Arsenal defence and has really grown into the ‘leader’ role this campaign.

Despite being at an obvious pace disadvantage to Alphonso Davies (most players are), he stuck to his task at one point in the first half to make an important tackle. Then, he put his head where it hurts to send a Gnabry shot behind for a corner.

Of course, the speed of Davies would undo the backline before long but Gabriel recovered well after it and continued to marshal his teammates as Bayern tried to kill the game. His work helped to keep the home attack relatively quiet – by their standards anyway – and ensured the match was still in the balance when Declan Rice netted the equaliser.

The search for a first goal this season goes on but, if he keeps defending like he did here, then Arteta will be happy to leave that job to others.

Standout #3: Declan Rice

Leave it to others like Declan Rice.

Bayern have so many ways to hurt teams that you need men who can do a bit of everything; Rice can do a bit of everything and more.

Fans are almost desensitised to his brilliance; such is the regularity with which he does it. However, it is not normal to strut around the Allianz Arena like he did – spraying passes about, setting the tempo and making interceptions to halt a runaway Bayern attack.

He does it all in style whilst also making the odd box-crashing run himself and, indeed, it was he who made it 2-2 late on, rounding off a wonderful team move with a powerful drive beyond the reach of Neuer.

Some of his corners came close to putting Arsenal ahead too, with Bruno Guimaraes only denied by a miraculous save from the legendary German on the goal line.

Whether he is scoring free-kicks, fixing water-damaged phones or levelling matches against the great Bayern Munich, it seems there is nothing Rice cannot do.

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