Tuesday, February 19, 2013

ARSENAL vs BAYERN MUNICH: Round of 16 Preview



Arsenal welcome runaway Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich tonight in the 1st leg of their Round of 16 clash in the UEFA Champions League. Having been knocked out of all other domestic competitions, the Champions League provides the last chance for Arsene Wenger’s men to salvage a disappointing season. But, they face a daunting task as German giants Bayern come calling.

Arsenal, ever since they finished second behind another German side Schalke in Group B, were always in danger of drawing one of the Top teams in Europe. And their fears were confirmed, when they drew 4 time European champions Munich. The Londoners struggled in the Group phase to keep a clean sheet and it was one of the main reasons that hampered their progress early in the tournament. They were just unable to prevent teams from scoring and it will be Arsene Wenger’s major concern going into the game. Wenger will be forced into a reshuffle in the back-line as new left-back Nacho Monreal, signed from Malaga, is cup tied and Kieran Gibbs is out injured. This would mean Thomas Vermaelen starting on the left with both Per Mertesacker and Laurent Koscielny playing centre-back.


The midfield is where the Gunners have an abundance of riches. The return of Jack Wilshere to the fold has lifted the Gunners’ performances and along with Santi Cazorla and Mikel Arteta, the trio forms a formidable threat to any side. Though Cazorla has gone off the boil after his early impressive form, he continues to be a positive influence on Arsenal’s play. Gervinho is back from the African Nations Cup, but with Olivier Giroud hitting good form of late, the Frenchman is likely to get the nod to start up front with Theo Walcott and Lukas Podolski taking their place either side on the wings. Walcott is the leading scorer for the Gunners this season with 18 goals in all competitions. Arsenal will be looking to rebound from a stunning 1-0 at home by Championship side Blackburn Rovers in the FA Cup and their manager and their fans will be looking for a response tonight with their main players back in the fray.


Bayern Munich come to London in red hot form. The Bundesliga leaders have lost just 2 games all season, once in the league to Bayer Leverkusen and once in Europe to BATE Borisov, and sit pretty atop their league 15 points clear of defending champions Dortmund. Bayern this season have been devastating at times and boast one of the best attacking line ups in Europe. Bastian Schweinsteiger in the company of Javi Martinez will run the engine room for Bayern with Toni Kroos playing a further forward to support the front-line  Croatian striker Mario Mandzukic, who has 17 goals to his name, should start up front with Thomas Mueller and Franck Ribery donning the wide positions. Add to that, the threat of Philip Lahm and David Alaba from the fullback positions and Arsenal seemingly have their hands full as they look to contain the visitors. 

Defenders Holger Badstuber and Jerome Boateng are definitely out and are the only major absentees for the German side. For all the talk about their offense, it is their €4.5 million summer acquisition Dante who has had the biggest impact. He has been the bedrock of a much improved Munich defence that has conceded just 7 goals in 22 league games thus far. Bayern have been flying domestically and are on a 5 game winning streak, scoring 13 goals and conceding none in the process.


Today’s match will be won and lost in the midfield area. Whichever side seizes the initiative here will be in a good position to drive home the advantage. Arsenal will be wary of Bayern’s threat especially with their defence not being reassuring at the back. They will have to contain the threat of Ribery and Mueller from the flanks and also keep tabs on Kroos who can hit the long ball well. Jack Wilshere will once again go up against Munich’s towering Brazilian defender Dante, the pair having met at Wembley recently in the friendly between England and Brazil. Bayern’s wingbacks will be entrusted with the job of keeping a lid on the dangerous Walcott. Arsenal have been poor away from home in Europe and will need some sort of advantage to take to Munich to have any hope of upsetting the Bavarians and will need their 2 “W’s” – Wilshere and Walcott – to fire to get that 3rd “W” -  a win – under their belt.

HISTORY
  • Arsenal and Bayern have previously met 4 times in the Champions League, with the Germans winning 2, losing 1 and 1 draw. Bayern won their last meeting in the Round of 16 in the 2004/05 season 3-2
  • Arsenal have won 6 of their last 7 home games against German opposition. Their only loss came earlier this season when they lost to Schalke.
  • England has not been a happy hunting ground for Bayern. The Bavarians have lost in each of their last 4 trips to the country with their last win coming at Old Trafford in 2001 in the Quarterfinals stage.


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