Arsenal Can Win In Munich But Should They?

Match Preview: Bayern Munich vs. Arsenal – Champions League 04.11.2015

Victory over tonight's opponents 15 days ago gave Arsenal a glimmer of hope in their attempts to progress to the next stage of the Champions League. Another victory tonight would put one toe in the knockout rounds but the odds are stacked even higher against the Gunners tonight in Germany than it was two weeks ago in North London.

A spate of injuries suggests that we shouldn't feel all that confident, especially against the best club side in the world buoyed by the return from injury of one of their most dangerous players. The biggest question for the manager is to prioritise the derby over a faint chance of victory here. Joel Campbell looked far more convincing against Swansea than he did Sheffield Wednesday and, so far, is doing well at proving he can be counted on.  Wenger has previously spoken of the possibility of playing Cazorla on the wing and it's not unfathomable to think he'll move Gibbs to left wing which gives us the opportunity to rest Alexis, or at least leave him on the bench unless we're in desperate need of him.

When Arsenal last beat Bayern at the Allianz the team consisted of Fabianki, Gibbs, Koscielny, Mertesacker, Jenkinson, Ramsey, Arteta, Rosicky, Cazorla, Giroud, Walcott. By no means our worst team but clearly behind the current group despite featuring many of the same names.

Cech is miles beyond Fabianski; Monreal is, on form, the best left back in England; Debuchy is leagues above that incarnation of the corporal, although he'll need to blow away a few cobwebs and apply some WD40 to be at his best; Coquelin gives us much more defensive assurance than the double pivot did, as good as they were; Alexis is Alexis, Özil is Özil and Giroud is massively improved. The best eleven we could put out tonight - the same XI that beat Swansea bar Debuchy in place of the sadly injured Bellerin - is a fair few notches above the team that beat Bayern two years ago.

However, Bayern too are improved from 2013 so on reflection it's as even a match now as it was then which isn't very. Despite that, the 2013 Arsenal team went to Germany and won so there's no reason this team couldn't.

If we play our best team tonight then I'm confident we won't lose and that presents a quandary I'm glad I don't have to solve. Our best available eleven, minus key speedsters like Bellerin and Walcott who so well served the counter-attacking tactics that saw us be the first team this season to defeat Bayern, is capable of getting at least a draw. However, we have an important match on Sunday to worry about and a squad who can scarcely afford another injury. If we can get through this week unscathed then we can start again after the international break with 2-3 players returned or a match or two away from being in contention again. One way to do that is to rest as many of our players tonight as we can and take anything more than avoiding humiliation as a bonus.

Arsenal gave themselves a lifeline with the Bayern win but they shouldn't waste it trying too hard to compete on more than one front. The first two group losses almost put Arsenal out of the competition but two final wins would almost all but guarantee they progress. A point or more tonight is not a necessity but three points against Spurs is.

Whatever team Wenger puts out I'm sure they'll give it their all, I just hope it doesn't come at a bigger cost.

LAST 3 Meetings

• Arsenal 2-0 Bayern (20.10.2015)
• Bayern 1-1 Arsenal (11.03.2014)
• Arsenal 0-2 Bayern (19.02.2014)

FACTFILE

• No team has ever qualified from the group stages having lost their opening two matches
• This is the 6th time these sides have met in three seasons
• Mesut Özil has scored twice against Bayern Munich – the only team he has scored against more than once in the UCL
• Arsenal have only lost once in their last seven away games to German opposition
• Bayern have won their last seven home games in the UCL
• Arsenal have lost their last two UCL Wednesday fixtures, they've never lost three UCL Wednesday games in a row
• Arsenal have scored the highest total of goals in the last fifteen minutes in the UCL this season (3)
• Bayern have scored on average over 5 goals per home game in their last 4 European home matches

INJURIES

Bellerin, Walcott, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Ramsey, Wilshere, Welbeck, Arteta, Ospina and Rosický are all sidelined.

POSSIBLE STARTING XI

Čech; Monreal, Gabriel, Koscielny, Debuchy; Coquelin, Cazorla; Alexis, Özil, Campbell; Giroud.

GOONERSPHERE's PREDICTION

Bayern 2-1 Arsenal

Don't forget to like us on Facebook, add us to your G+ circle and follow us on Twitter.