The Champions League Group Stages

The day had finally arrived, September 17th

Resurreccion had suffered a mild strain and wasn’t playing tonight. It was the late kick-off — one of two fixtures on the day. Earlier, London Monarchs had dismantled Bianconeri JFC with a dominant 6–2 win, Jadon Keyes netting four.

Arsenic scrolled through his phone, reading updates about the other match: Valencia Titans vs Anfield Reds. It was billed as a spectacle. Arsenic scrolled the Valencia’s website and found the lineup, Alucron looked to be starting as well as their new signing Elian Roux.

“Hey!” Resurreccion barked, slamming a locker door. “It’s time, come on!”

Snapped out of it, Arsenic tucked his phone into the locker. He shouldn’t be thinking about other matches. This was his night. His moment. He’d proved himself in the league. Now, it was time to silence Europe’s doubts — once and for all.

He could already hear the roar of the Gunners faithful echoing through the stands, banners waving, voices united in anticipation.

This was the Champions League. Where history was made.

He got up and stood in the tunnel, his breathing steady. He wore the armband today leading their team. The captain was down but not out, his role was the unofficial assistant coach of sort.

Beside Arsenic, the Bavarians München’s captain Kane Porter rolled his shoulders, eyes sharp and focused. He made eye-contact with Arsenic to let him know, it was on.

They were fresh off their 12th straight German league title, but this competition had eluded them. They made the finals only twice in the last five years and lost both times, once to Arsenic on his first Ballon D'or winning.

There had always been talk about the German league — a one-team competition, they said. The Bavarians were often accused of cruising domestically and failing in Europe. \

They’d fallen in the quarter-finals last season to Alucron’s Valencia Titans who went on to win the whole thing. That sting still lingered.

This season would be different though. They had made sure of it. They strengthened their team buying the exciting talents of Akpovie Oleesay and Koman Jr on either wings. Not to mention their new Coach Michaelangelo poached from the Champions League winners themselves. They were going to be a real threat this season.

The commentators were as excited as the fans.

Peter Drury: "The Champions League returns to North London, and what a night we have ahead! Gunners, resurgent under Rivera, against the Bavarians, the European giants with unfinished business in this tournament. The stage is set. The players are ready. Let’s play!"

Ally McCoist: "This is where boys become men, Peter. Gunner’s young guns have been fearless, but tonight, they face one of the most ruthless teams in Europe. Let’s see if they can handle the heat."

Coach Rivera had shuffled the pack. Resurreccion’s absence left a void in midfield, but training had revealed a gem of a partnership — Mendes and Pryce. The second team had impressed, and Rivera wasn't afraid to take risks.

The backline was anchored by Viktor Kaminski and Matteo Baxton. At fullback, youngsters Hakim Malik and Rafael Costa got the nod ahead of Alain Andre and Callum Waters. Sverre slotted at CAM.

Up front: Arsenic on the left, Saka on the right, and Hugo Laurent got his first start through the middle.

And in case plan A didn’t work, Coach Rivera had substitutes that were up to the task.

The whistle blew. The ball rolled.

The Bavarians clicked into gear like clockwork — swift, sharp, unrelenting.

Jamal Kaiser got the ball in midfield and threaded a precise pass to the left wing. Leon Bexler, their lightning-quick fullback, exploded forward, skipping past Rafael Costa toward the byline. The cross came in — low, hard, deadly.

Kane Porter timed his run to perfection.

Peter Drury: “And suddenly the Gunners are breached—Porter’s in!”

He struck it first time. The Emirates stadium held its breath as Reyes dived to save but only managed to palm it towards the post, getting in.

CLANG!

GOAL!

0–1 — Kane Porter (12’)

13 minutes in and the Gunners were clearly the second best.

But things started to pick up as Mendes played a silky one-two with Pryce, then sent it to Sverre. The Norwegian peeled into space and clipped a diagonal pass into Arsenic’s stride.

Arsenic brought it down on his chest, swiveled, and let fly.

Saved! By the Bavarian’s number one, Marx Neuermann

Peter Drury: “It’s a clash of generations! Phillip, the prince of North London, and Neuermann, the emperor of goalkeeping!”

🎙️ Ally McCoist: “Both teams are swinging mow, Peter. No feeling-out process here. This is high-stakes football.”

21’ minute

The match was going on slowly as the Gunners began to pick up pace. However, a careless backpass from Pryce was intercepted by Jamal Kaiser. Mendes moved in to cover but was nutmegged easily and Kaiser was through. He ran his pace quicker as he approached the box, he faked a shot then nutmegged Kaminski. The pass slid into the feet of Oleesay, who squared it for Porter.

Peter Drury: “And Porter... BURIES IT! That’s as cool as you’d like from your striker.”

0–2 — Kane Porter (22’)

Ally McCoist: “Clinical. Ruthless. That’s a goal born in Bavaria’s DNA. The Gunners have a tough game ahead of them.”

The commentator was right. The game was much tougher than they expected. Bavarians were structured and played with high-intensity. Pressing quickly when they lose the ball and their wings were dominated by not only their wingers but also their fullbacks, especially Leon Bexler who was too fast for Rafael Costa.

The Gunners’ midfield struggled to string three passes together.

It was so bad that Arsenic had only managed to touch the ball a handful of times. On the touchline, Coach Rivera was fuming jumping up and down, barking instructions at Temidayo Saka who had not touched the ball even once.

“Go for the ball, Temidayo! Don’t wait around!” he barked.

Peter Drury: “Quite a poor performance from the Gunners I must say, McCoist. It’s been a one-sided race so far.”

Ally McCoist: “I agree, Peter. But credit must be given to the Bavarians for being disciplined and controlling the tempo. They have taken their chances and have had the majority of the possession. Rivera’s going to have a massive team talk at halftime... if they don’t concede again before then.”

44’ Minute

Rafael Costa surged forward, beating two men with a sharp change of pace. He switched it to the left wing where Hakim Malik sprinted after it, trapping it with a deft touch.

Kaiser moved to intercept him but Hakim bolted past him reaching the byline and cutting it awkwardly across.

The ball skipped, bounced, and landed perfectly for Arsenic. One touch. One hit.

CRACK!

It smacked the crossbar and spun out wide.

A collective gasp was heard around the stadium followed by cheers from the home fans who were quiet upto this point. The game was still on.

Halftime.
Bavarians 2 – Gunners 0.