Arsenal make the trip to Bavaria this Wednesday, as they take on Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena, in their fourth UEFA Champions League match of the campaign. It promises to be their toughest match of the season so far.
The Gunners are flying high in the league at the moment. Despite being faced with a number of significant injuries, a strong eleven was still put out last Saturday to beat Swansea City 3-0 at the Liberty Stadium, meaning Arsenal still kept up the pace with league leaders Manchester City. The scoreline perhaps didn’t reflect Swansea too well as they had a far few good attempts to score in the first half, if it wasn’t for some great defending, from the likes of Hector Bellerín, and goalkeeping from Petr Cech. Altogether it was a convincing win for Arsenal, who are entering the upcoming north London derby in fine form.
Arsenal will go to the Allianz confident in their own abilities, so much so that they’ll feel they can beat the German champions. This is because just two weeks ago they welcomed Pep Guardiola’s side to the Emirates and amazingly beat them 2-0, with a very well executed game plan. Wenger structured his team to concede possession and rather hit Bayern on the break with faster players like Alexis Sánchez, Theo Walcott and Hector Bellerín – a tactic that was personified by Arsenal’s second goal of that night. This got the Gunners off the mark in terms of points gained in their group, so if this team can pick up at least a point in Bavaria this Wednesday, it would set them up well for the remaining two matchdays – a place in the Champions League knockout stage is still in sight.

Bayern have maintained a fairly positive run since their defeat in north London, although their results – given their virtually unstoppable start to their season – could be seen as a decline. The Bavarians only put three past Wolfsburg compared to the five they scored against them before their third Champions League game, but they did beat Cologne 4-0. However, their most recent game was a 0-0 draw with Eintracht Frankfurt, a result that was hinging upon Guardiola resting a number of first team players. Altogether however, Bayern are fired up and ready for Wednesday night, especially as they still keep up their first place spot in both the league and their European group.
A player Bayern need to watch out for is Mesut Özil. He’s back in his home country for this game, and going to the Allianz in fine form as well. The German has been the catalyst to Arsenal’s wins this season, with five assists and a goal in his last five Premier League appearances. He’s on course to be one of the league’s best players this year, and also scored against Bayern two weeks ago. For Arsenal to win, they’re going to need their main man delivering.
For Arsenal, they need to keep an eye on Douglas Costa. He scored a screamer against Wolfsburg last week, and has shown no rest from his simply sublime form this season – proving himself to be one of the best purchases of the summer. Whilst he couldn’t get the better of the young Spaniard in the second half of the game two weeks ago, he blazed through in the first 45 minutes. Arsenal need to keep a check on his explosive play if they don’t want to get caught in a moment of madness.

This is a heavily anticipated match, not only because of the result two weeks ago, but because of Arsenal’s situation at the moment. A win here could put the Gunners in a great place for group stage qualification. Guardiola’s men are also fired up, with Manuel Neuer and Arturo Vidal making comments about how Arsenal “will play even more defensive” and “will see the real Bayern”. It’s clear this means more than just three points.
Team news:
Hector Bellerin is set to miss out – a huge loss for the Gunners, with Mathieu Debuchy expected to deputise in his place. Danny Welbeck, Jack Wilshere and Tomas Rosicky remain sidelined until the new year. Mikel Arteta and David Ospina’s return dates are unknown. Aaron Ramsey, Theo Walcott and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain all are injured until after the international break.

For Bayern, Franck Ribery, Sebastian Rode and Mario Götze all remain in the treatment room. However, Arjen Robben returns from injury – scoring on his return against Wolfsburg – as do Javi Martinez and Medhi Benatia.
Predicted XIs:
Arsenal (4-2-3-1): Cech; Debuchy, Mertesacker, Koscielny, Monreal; Cazorla, Coquelin; Campbell, Özil, Alexis; Giroud.
Bayern (4-4-1-1): Neuer; Lahm, Boateng, Alonso, Alaba; Robben, Thiago, Vidal, Costa; Muller; Lewandowski.
Prediction:
A 2-2 draw at the Allianz. Mesut Özil will open the scoring, but Bayern will take back the lead through Robert Lewandowski and Arjen Robben. However, Arsenal will secure a poor and keep their qualification hopes intact with a fairly late equaliser from Olivier Giroud – it promises to be an enthralling match.





