Bayern Munich v Arsenal Arsenal face arguably their biggest challenge of the season on Tuesday as they look to overturn a 2-0 deficit against Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena. Thomas Muller and Toni Kroos were on target for the reigning champions when the teams met in the first leg at the Emirates, and it would take a brave man to bet against Bayern protecting their advantage at their home ground. The Gunners can, however, draw inspiration from their previous visit to Munich at the same stage last season when they beat the Bavarians 2-0, but ultimately exited the competition on the away goals rule after losing 3-1 at home in the first leg. Arsene Wengers side head to Germany having booked their place in the semi-finals of the FA Cup with a resounding 4-1 win over Everton on Saturday and the Frenchman says the victory was the perfect preparation for the midweek clash. It was important of course for us to win (on Saturday) to put us on a psychological front in a good mind and we can be inspired by our focus, by our desire and go to Bayern with the same spirit, he said. The statistics go against us at Bayern but lets make sure the performance goes for us, then we have a chance. Jack Wilshere is out for six weeks after suffering a hairline fracture in his foot, while there remain doubts over the fitness of defenders Laurent Koscielny (hamstring) and Nacho Monreal (foot). Injured midfield duo Aaron Ramsey (thigh) and Kim Kallstrom (back) are closing in on a return to action but are not expected to feature in Munich, while Wojciech Szczesny misses the game through suspension after seeing red in the reverse fixture. Bayern came from a goal down to thrash Wolfsburg 6-1 at the weekend, their 16th straight league victory that extended their unbeaten run in the Bundesliga to 49 games dating back to October 2012. Manchester City earned a 2-0 win in Munich during the group stage of the Champions League, proving that holders are indeed beatable, although that defeat is the only one they have suffered all season. Pep Guardiola has a fully fit squad to choose from after Xherdan Shaqiri, Thomas Muller and Franck Ribery returned against Die Wolfe.
Posted on: Mon, 10 Mar 2014 13:47:00 +0000
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