Arsenal face a daunting trip to the Allianz Arena to face Bayern Munich on Wednesday night. The Gunners have not gone beyond the last 16 for the last six years and when this draw was made, that streak was envisaged to continue.
Bayern edge the 10 previous matches between the two sides with 5 victories while Arsenal have come on top three times. In that time, 28 goals have been scored with Bayern scoring 17 of those. Their current league form paints a similar picture with Bayern having won 4 of their last 5 matches with 1 draw while Arsenal have lost twice and won thrice in the same period. If recent history prevails, Arsenal will have a tough task ahead in Germany.
Bayern will be without Franck Ribery and Jerome Boateng who are both expected to miss out due to injury. There are also injury concerns with Xabi Alonso who limped out of training earlier in the week but it is rumored that he will make it onto the . That said, Bayern thrive in cup competitions and have won each of their last 15 home matches in the Champions League, while Arsenal have lost three of their last seven away matches in the competition.
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has confirmed that David ospina will start in goal ahead of Petr Cech. Hector Bellerin also returned from concussion at the weekend while Nacho Monreal should return to the starting line-up. Bayern won 5-1 the last time these two sides met have eliminated Arsenal in their three previous Champions League encounters with the last being the 2013/14 season.
Betting odds suggest that Bayern are overwhelming favorites to win and taking Arsenal’s record in knockout competitions lately, it’s hard to argue with that. That said, Bayern of late, haven’t looked anywhere near the level of quality they have the potential to display. This one is tough to call and could go either way.
