Arsenal clawed back a 2-2 draw at home to Bayern in the Champions League quarter-final first leg on Tuesday night, showing that last season’s big-game nerves aren’t entirely out of their system.

Despite Bukayo Saka opening the scoring with a great finish after 12 minutes, the Gunners seemed very on edge and struggled to balance moments of too much aggression with moments of being too passive, giving Bayern a route back into the game.

Two first-half goals turned the tie in Bayern’s favour, with Jakob Kiwior struggling to marshal Leroy Sane on the left and the back line struggling to build up effectively, inviting pressure.

One of the main issues was a lack of influence on the left side of the pitch.

With Kiwior and Declan Rice struggling on the ball, Gabriel Martinelli barely saw a kick on the left wing, making Arsenal’s attack too predictable and narrowing the pitch.

The left central midfield spot has been one of the lingering question marks ever since the summer and it still seems like an area Arsenal need to figure out in the biggest games.

For Bayern’s penalty, we saw several players dive in rashly which was incredibly uncharacteristic given what we’ve seen over recent months. That and the erratic play at times showed that last season’s lack of experience and nerves haven’t completely been overcome.

It leaves Arsenal with a difficult but clear job in the second leg – go to Munich and win.

On the other hand, Arsenal put in a professional performance away at Brighton on Saturday evening, coming away with a comfortable 3-0 victory and extending their superb Premier League form. 

Brighton away was one of the potential banana skins left for the Gunners but they were assured, resolute at the back as usual and clinical in attack to put the game to bed.

Last season, it was the type of game that Arsenal didn’t kill off, like against Liverpool or West Ham, but this year the Gunners are putting teams to bed, and if they don’t they defend like their lives depend on it.

Mikel Arteta's men now face fifth-placed Aston Villa at the Emirates on Sunday afternoon (4.30pm), as both Manchester City and Liverpool play first during the weekend, putting the pressure on Arsenal to respond with another win.