Bayern Munich have taken a big step towards the quarter-finals of the Champions League after beating Arsenal 2-0 in the first leg of their Champions League tie at the Emirates Stadium.

Both sides came close to an early goal, with Wojciech Szczesny being forced to tip away a powerful Toni Kroos effort before Manuel Neuer was called into action to deny Yaya Sanogo.

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Arsenal were gifted an opportunity to take the lead in the ninth minute after Jerome Boateng tripped Mesut Ozil inside the box.

However, Ozil was frustrated from 12 yards as his international teammate Neuer stayed on his feet long enough to push the weak effort to safety.

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Bayern dominated possession for most of the first half and it was their turn to be awarded a penalty in the 37th minute when Arjen Robben was fouled by Szczesny, who was shown a straight red card for bringing down the Dutch winger inside the box.

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It was Bayern's turn to miss a chance to break the deadlock as David Alaba became the second player to fail from the spot when he clipped the outside of the post with his effort from the spot towards the end of a dramatic first half.

Pep Guardiola's side piled on the pressure after the break and Arsenal were regularly asked questions by Bayern's creative players early in the second half.

Munich took the lead in the 54th minute when Kroos collected a pass from Philipp Lahm on the edge of the box before firing an unstoppable effort past Lukasz Fabianski.

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Arsenal's replacement goalkeeper did manage to prevent Bayern from pulling further ahead a few minutes later when he palmed Robben's close-range effort away.

The away side were able to slice open the home defence more often as the second half progressed and they came agonisingly close to a second goal when Robben curled the ball just past the post from the edge of the box.

Substitute Thomas Muller scored a vital second away goal in the 88th minute by heading in Lahm's cross from just outside the six yard box.

It could have been worse for Arsenal when Kroos struck the post in stoppage time but Bayern were forced to settle for two away goals on a dramatic night in North London.