Kingsley Coman continues to make his mark with star-laden Bayern Munich

Arsene Wenger had plenty to regret as he stood on the edge of his technical area, watching Bayern Munich thrash his Arsenal team 5-1. There was the decision to leave his best central defender, Laurent Koscielny, on the bench - even if it was a precautionary act. A minor hip complaint ought not to have been enough to keep such an important player out of such an important game.

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More than that, Wenger might have reproached himself for taking previous opponents too lightly. If Arsenal had not fielded a rotated side away to Dinamo Zagreb in their opening group game, and consequently lost 2-1, then a defeat here in Munich would not have left them so perilously close to crashing out of the tournament.

Bayern’s team selection gave him one more item to lament. The Bundesliga champions had included Kingsley Coman in their own starting XI, a player whom Wenger himself had attempted to sign in the summer of 2014.

It was Juventus, not Bayern, who beat Arsenal to the punch back then. Out of contract at Paris Saint-Germain, the then 18-year-old Coman was courted by several leading European clubs but chose the Bianconeri because he was impressed by how concrete the team’s plans for him were, observing that "it wasn’t the usual hollow talk."

He ended his first season at Juventus by playing in a Champions League final, and yet the marriage was never quite as perfect as Coman had envisaged. Massimiliano Allegri had often sought to deploy him as a centre-forward but, despite some encouraging performances, he found the net just once in 20 appearances during his first season at the club.

The players who trained with him every day still saw something special. "Even though [Coman] is young, he has great quality," said Arturo Vidal after completing his own move to Bayern this summer. "He can have a great career and grow a lot in the next few years."

Perhaps it was the Chilean who persuaded Pep Guardiola to take the plunge. As the transfer window was about to slam shut, Bayern reached an agreement with Juventus on a two-year loan of the player. They would pay €7 million up front, with the option to make his signing permanent for a further €21 million.

That is likely to be a formality, if he carries on as he has begun. Coman set up a goal in his first Champions League appearance for his new club, a 3-0 win away to Olympiacos, then scored in an identical victory away to Darmstadt three days later. With Robben, Ribery and Mario Gotze all missing time due to injury, he has continued to find space in the team, mostly on the right of midfield.

Against Arsenal he lined on the left, and it did not take long for him to demonstrate the qualities that earned him his place in the side. It was Coman who drew two men to him in the 10th minute, before rolling the ball back to Thiago. His teammate now had space and time to pick out a perfect chipped pass to Robert Lewandowski, who headed home the opening goal.

Coman was even more closely involved in Bayern’s second, getting the assist on Thomas Muller’s deflected finish - even if that was never truly his intention. He had attempted to meet Philipp Lahm’s cross with a shot on the half-volley, but wound up slicing the ball to Muller instead.

If the technique was imperfect, then Coman deserved credit for putting himself in the right places to do damage - and not only when his team had possession. Arsenal’s Mathieu Debuchy was caught thoroughly off-guard when he turned to clear a ball deep in his own half, only for Coman to charge it down even as it was leaving his boot.

For interventions such as that one, Guardiola might also have Patrice Evra to thank. The full-back took Coman under his wing at Juventus, giving pointers and befriending his family. "His father gave me the OK to be hard with him if he doesn’t listen," chuckled Evra in one interview. "I got dad’s approval, so that’s perfect!"

Effusive in his praise, Evra added that Coman "has made a real impression on me. I did not know him before, but he has talent and he has a future … When you’re young, people tell you how strong you are, what a phenomenon you are, but if you do not have your head right, you can have Cristiano Ronaldo’s technique and you’ll still go nowhere in football.

"From what I’ve seen in these first few months, [Coman] has his head right."

That was the impression that anybody watching Wednesday’s game would have left with as well. Coman was not the star of the show - indeed, when he was eventually withdrawn in the 54th minute, his replacement, Robben, proceeded to score with his first touch. But nor did he look at all out of place starting for what might be the best team in Europe.

If Bayern can continue to produce performances like this one, then we might yet see him involved in another Champions League final before he turns 20 next June.