Vincent Kompany admitted Bayern Munich had been pushed hard by Arsenal after his side settled for a 2-2 draw at the Allianz Arena. The result left the Belgian caught between disappointment at throwing away the win and satisfaction at the chances his players created against one of the Champions League's standout contenders.
Kompany believed Bayern were good enough to win the game. Even so, he did not dispute that the draw was fair, given the spells in which Arsenal took control before snatching their equaliser in the closing minutes.
Speaking in comments carried by "Mundo Deportivo", the Bayern manager said: "We are in a phase during which we are playing a very large number of matches, so we have to move past this fixture quickly and think about the next match. We faced a strong opponent, and we felt it and saw it clearly".
Kompany laments the equaliser
The Belgian turned to the chances his side had carved out, admitting Bayern created dangerous openings he had not expected to reach in such numbers, only to lose part of their momentum late on.
He added: "I think we had good periods in the match, and we created some clear chances that I did not expect us to get. It is unfortunate that we struggled during the last 10 or 15 minutes, which made us lose some momentum".
"We felt that we were capable of winning, and perhaps we deserved it, but the opponent was very strong, and the match was not settled at any moment", he continued. "The equaliser we conceded in the final minutes was unfortunate".
By his reckoning the contest was largely even, both sides trading pressure and attempts to reach the attacking third. Yet he felt Bayern got into dangerous areas more often.
He said: "Arsenal pressed with the same intensity we pressed with, and we were dangerous in those moments. We did not always succeed in picking the right timing to reach the final third, but I think we reached those areas more than Arsenal, and we created the danger, including two or three chances during which we had a numerical advantage".
An acknowledgement of Arsenal's superiority in some periods
For all his regret at dropping two points, Kompany refused to paint the night as total Bayern control. Arsenal, he stressed, had the upper hand in phases of their own.
He said: "We faced a top-class opponent, and I will not say that one of the two sides dominated absolutely, because Arsenal also had periods in which they were the better side. The result may be fair, even though we created clearer chances".
Kompany explains the secret behind Harry Kane's threat
Harry Kane earned the manager's praise and the man of the match award, scoring once and teeing up a decisive assist for Alphonso Davies. Kompany reckons the Englishman's intelligence in moving and shifting his position hands the team extra attacking solutions.
He explained: "Kane has a special instinct that makes him know when to drop back and when to move into other areas of the pitch. I think Arsenal did something similar with their strikers today, and this makes the defenders' task very complicated, because they cannot mark a player fixed in one position".
That movement, Kompany concluded, buys Kane the space to unlock his passing range. He said: "When the centre-backs step up to press and Harry gets some time on the ball, he can show his great quality through long and accurate passes, which helps us get past the defensive line and create dangerous chances".
The draw lifted Bayern Munich to 5 points after three rounds of the Champions League. Next up is an eagerly awaited trip to face Atletico Madrid on 3 November, another stern test against strong opposition.