Arsenal welcome European giants Bayern Munich to the Emirates this Tuesday, in their third UEFA Champions League tie of the season, a match which looks to be the biggest test of the season for Arsene Wenger’s men so far.
The morale at London Colney is sure to be at a high going into Tuesday night. The Gunners sit second in the table, just two points behind league leaders Manchester City. They’ve just won three consecutive matches by a margin of three goals – the first time since 2009 such an event has occurred – and altogether the Arsenal side is really “clicking”, in the sense that everyone is stepping up to the mark and delivering, resulting in fruitful performances. Keep it quiet, but Arsenal may have a strong shot at the title this year.
Saturday’s performance against Watford was an interesting one, and the scoreline perhaps didn’t fully reflect the game itself. Watford had a fair few solid chances in the first half and were unlucky to not grab a goal. However, Arsenal were better on the night overall and deserved the three points. With Alexis Sanchez in fine form – scoring 10 times in his last six appearances for club and country – Aaron Ramsey opening his account for the season to couple some great performances, and Laurent Koscielny back for selection, this Arsenal side is hitting the right stride at the right time.
Arsene Wenger’s men have a massive test ahead of them, however. Bayern Munich have arguably been the best team in Europe this season. Playing some fantastic football, they’ve become the first team in Bundesliga history to win their first nine matches of a season (Thomas Muller’s goal in a 1-0 win over Werder Bremen breaking that record), as well winning their first two Champions League matches. With Douglas Costa and Muller tearing it up on the wings, Robert Lewandowski providing the near-perfect finisher up top, and Xabi Alonso floating from midfield to defence, Pep Guardiola’s side are playing some champagne football at the Allianz. Arsenal will be on the back-foot this time round, and it’ll need to be a flawless game plan if they are to get the better hand of the Bavarian side.
A player Arsenal will need to watch out for is Robert Lewandowski. The Pole has been in fine form this season, his impact being unrivalled at the moment in comparison with other strikers across the world. Whilst Laurent Koscielny has a good track record against the top attackers of the game today, Lewandowski’s movement and killer finish means he’ll only need one chance to open his scoring in the game – Koscielny and co. will have to make sure that doesn’t happen.
A player Bayern Munich will have to keep an eye on is Aaron Ramsey. The Welshman has been doing very well recently for both club and country and recently has been able to add a couple of goals to those performances as well. With his confidence on a high at the moment, expect his runs to be flourishing, and being able to be that risky player that will end up making the difference.
The last time these two met at the Emirates resulted in a 2-0 away win for Bayern. Arsenal were careless and sloppy whilst being dominated by the Germans. Second-half goals from Toni Kroos and Thomas Muller wrapped up what was a night to forget for the Gunners, marred by a lacklustre Mesut Ozil penalty and the sending off of Wojciech Szczesny – the type of Arsenal who’ll want to be forgotten, and rather who’ll try to produce a spirited performance this time round.
Team News:
The usual to report for Arsenal. No new injuries were picked up at the weekend, so it’s still Danny Welbeck, Jack Wilshere, Tomas Rosicky and David Ospina in the treatment room going into Tuesday’s match. The current first team of Arsenal should be fit to play, with Matt Macey likely in the squad again.
For Guardiola’s team, a couple of noticeable absentees. The usual Mario Gotze, Medhi Benatia and Holger Badstuber are out with their problems, but reports suggest that Arjen Robben didn’t make the trip to London yesterday. Whilst Douglas Costa and Thomas Muller marauding down the flanks is enough to embarrass most defenders, Nacho Monreal will rest a tad easier because of the news.
Predicted XIs:
Arsenal (4-2-3-1): Cech; Bellerin, Mertesacker, Koscielny, Monreal; Ramsey, Coquelin; Oxlade-Chamberlain, Ozil, Alexis; Giroud.
Bayern (4-1-4-1): Neuer; Lahm, Boateng, Alaba, Bernat; Alonso; Muller, Thiago, Vidal, Costa; Lewandowski.
Prediction:
It’s going to be a loss, unfortunately. Whilst, given Arsenal’s form, it should be a tighter affair than that of February 2014, Bayern are virtually unstoppable at this point. It’ll be a 2-1 loss, with Thomas Muller and Robert Lewandowski scoring just before and just after the half-time mark, and Olivier Giroud scoring a late consolation to most likely put Arsene Wenger’s men in a position where no form of a European knockout stage prospect next year will be in sight.
