Arsene Wenger Praises Arsenal, Petr Cech After Gunners Beat Bayern Munich

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has hailed his side after their stunning 2-0 Champions League win over Bayern Munich at the Emirates Stadium on Tuesday and singled out goalkeeper Petr Cech for praise.

Per football writer Miguel Delaney, Wenger said of the contest:  

The Frenchman saw his side dominated by their illustrious opponents for the majority of the match, but a mistake from Bayern 'keeper Manuel Neuer allowed Olivier Giroud to score before Mesut Ozil wrapped up the three points in an injury-time counter-attack. 

The Gunners have impressed since losing to Olympiakos in their last Champions League outing, with strong performances against Manchester United and Watford culminating in their phenomenal win—the first time Bayern have lost over 90 minutes this season.    

Kirsty Wigglesworth/Associated Press

A crucial figure in the win was Cech, who returned to the side in David Ospina's absence after the Colombian started both of the Gunners' defeats in Group F.

Wenger took time to praise his stopper after he made several important saves to deny the likes of Xabi Alonso, Thiago Alcantara and Douglas Costa, and he also praised his Bayern counterpart, who made a world-class save to keep out Theo Walcott's header before making the decisive error.

Per football analyst Ben Dinnery and writer Iain Macintosh, he said:

Wenger was right to single out Cech, as Squawka Football reveals:

Football writer and agent Ben Fairthorne and BBC Sport's Phil McNulty were among many to highlight the 33-year-old's importance to the Gunners:

As for Neuer, Bayern manager Pep Guardiola refused to place any blame on the German, who was otherwise outstanding:

The error was indeed a rare one for the 29-year-old, who has established a reputation as the best goalkeeper on the planet and finished third in the race for the 2014 Ballon d'Or—the first 'keeper to make the top three since Gianluigi Buffon in 2006.

Neuer will undoubtedly have a big part to play when Arsenal make the return trip in November, and his mistake aside, if he plays as he did on Tuesday, the Gunners will have an incredibly tough time getting on the scoresheet.

The win is another huge result for Arsenal, who are slowly but surely turning around their unenviable record against other top sides, having also beaten Manchester City earlier in the year and thrashed United 3-0.

There is much work still to do before the Gunners can qualify for the knockout stages, but if they can maintain their incredible form, they could salvage their Champions League hopes yet.