ARSENAL manager Arsene Wenger was delighted that his team reproduced their recent outstanding Premier League form to revive their faltering European fortunes with a 2-0 win over Bayern Munich on Tuesday.

    The London club have climbed to second behind Manchester City in the Premier League but were struggling in Champions League Group F after losing their opening two matches to Dinamo Zagreb and Olympiakos Piraeus.

    For long periods it looked as if they were either going to lose, or at best draw against Bayern, but a 77th-minute header from substitute Olivier Giroud and a stoppage-time second from Germany international Mesut Ozil gave them an unexpected but hugely important victory.

    “The team focus and the dynamic was there in the preparation and we have had that for a while now,” said Wenger.

    “I said that in the press conference yesterday we were not at our level in the first two games because we were focused on the Premier League.

    “But we needed what we show in the Premier League, to beat Bayern tonight.”

    Arsenal have revived their chances of qualifying for the last 16 of the competition for the 16th successive season, although they still trail Bayern and Olympiakos by three points.

    Olympiakos, who won 3-2 at Arsenal last month, won 1-0 at Zagreb on Tuesday and have six points, along with Bayern. Dinamo and Arsenal both have three points with Arsenal traveling to Bayern for their next match on Nov. 4.

    “We had to win the game tonight,” Wenger said, explaining why he gambled on pushing up his defenders for the free kick that led to Giroud’s opening goal, which came after a rare mistake from goalkeeper Manuel Neuer.

    Pep Guardiola was left struggling to explain Bayern’s defeat, a result that ended his side’s perfect start to the season.

    The Germans controlled huge swathes of the game having 68 percent of the ball, carved out several great chances but unusually lacked a killer instinct in front of goal.

    Also on Tuesday, Chelsea’s Champions League campaign hit more trouble in a frustrating 0-0 draw against Dynamo Kiev in Group G.

    Chelsea dominated the game and was unlucky not to score after hitting the woodwork twice through Eden Hazard and Willian.

    On a chilly and breezy night in Ukraine, another good chance was missed by Nemanja Matic, who charged through the Dynamo defense but shot wide.

    Chelsea coach Jose Mourinho said his team “had control of the game for 70, 75 minutes” and “we had everything but we didn’t score.”  (SD-Agencies)