Arsenal vs Bayern Munich: Match preview
Stadium: Emirates Stadium
Referee: Svein Moen
Kick-off: 1:15 AM (IST), Wednesday, 20th of February
Having been unceremoniously dumped out of the FA Cup at the hands of Blackburn Rovers at the weekend, Arsenal now play host to the German league leaders, and last year’s Champions League finalists, Bayern Munich. With morale at the club likely to be at a season-low, Arsene Wenger will be hoping for an inspired performance from his side, although to pinpoint the source of inspiration, one would be at a loss.
Bayern, on the other hand, are having a nearly flawless season this time around, leading their league by an incredible 15 points, and with a goal difference of +50 with just 12 games remaining. They did experience a bit of a hiccough in the group stages, but have recovered well, and are undeniably firm favourites to go through in this fixture.
Arsenal: W D W W L
Just as it seemed that Arsenal would arrive into this game on the back of a good run of results, having notched up four wins and a draw in five games, fate conspired to prove otherwise. With the visit of Blackburn to the Emirates on Saturday, and a despairing loss for the Gunners, all the momentum they had generated went kaput, and even perhaps led to Arsene Wenger’s well-documented terse moments in the press conference. In spite of having scored freely on more than a few occasions this season, the last three games for Arsenal have all had 1 – 0 scorelines, twice in their favour and once against. Thus, at the very least, the fans will be hoping for their defence to stick together and come up with a similar performance against the Bavarians.
Bayern Munich: W W W W W
Currently on a streak of 10 wins on the run in all competitions, and being unbeaten in 22 likewise, Bayern have lost just 2 games all season, and have conceded just 7 goals in the Bundesliga. To continue with the impressive figures, they have scored 16 goals in their last five fixtures, and have kept a clean sheet in each of their last four. In fact, they have conceded only two goals in their last ten fixtures, that too in a friendly game against Aachen FC. With all this, there is barely any need to put in words how dominant Jupp Heynckes’ side have been this year. Instead, one would perhaps point out to how Thomas Muller, in particular, has risen mercurially to fame this season, even playing well enough to keep a fully fit Arjen Robben out of the side. A real threat, especially with Arsenal likely to be forced to field Vermaelen at left-back.
Arsenal: Kieran Gibbs, Nacho Monreal (cup tied).
Bayern Munich: Claudio Pizarro, Holger Badstuber, Jerome Boateng.
Theo Walcott
With David Alaba being, relatively, the weakest link in the Bayern defence, Walcott’s role in this game is of utmost importance for the Gunners. Whether he is mature enough to relinquish his desire to play as a centre forward for this game, and play as an out-and-out winger for extended periods, or decide to cut in too often and deny Arsenal width to their play, could make a big difference to the result. Of course, while Sagna is likely to provide Walcott some assistance on the overlap, it would perhaps be best to keep it to a minimal, considering the pace with which Ribery can lead a counterattack for the German side.
Bastian Schweinsteiger
With 2 goals to his name in the Champions League already this season, in addition to 5 in the Bundesliga, Schweinsteiger belies his now-standard role of acting as a play-maker, who doubles up as a holding midfielder. One of the reasons he is a key player for Bayern in this game is how good Jack Wilshere has been for the home side since his return from injury, and the need to stop him. Schweinsteiger is one of the few men in the world who is capable, and would perhaps even be confident of doing so, thereby cutting off much of Arsenal’s supply through the middle, and forcing them to rely on crosses into the box which the tall centre-backs may easily see off.
An away win, plain and simple. While it’s alright to claim that Arsenal play attractive football and can beat any team on their day, this is more about how good Bayern have been this season, and the quality they bring to the pitch. In a manner of speaking, Bayern are what Arsenal would have been if all their star players had not left the club as soon as they became fully groomed and got big-money contracts elsewhere. Thus, in spite of feeling sorry perhaps, for Wenger and his side, a win for the visitors would probably be a fair result.