Arsenal, who have suffered back-to-back defeats in the Champions League, face the might of Bayern Munich in an important encounter at Emirates Stadium on Tuesday. Arsenal, after their disappointing start to their campaign, currently lie on last position in Group F.
On the contrary, Bayern Munich have been one of the best teams in Europe as they have not lost a single game in the champions league as well as Bundesliga, which just underlines the tough task for Arsenal at Emirates. The German champions sit at the top of Group F.
Following Arsenal's disappointing 2-3 loss in their last champions league fixture against Olympiacos, the Gunners have looked solid in all departments of the game in the English Premier League. They can draw inspiration from their 3-0 victory over Manchester United, which was followed with another clinical performance against Watford in the domestic league.
"Let's take the positives of our Premier League [form] and as well get the right focus that you get when you play a big opponent," Arsenal football club official website quoted manager, Arsene Wenger as saying.
"We have some ground to make up in Europe as we have not been at our requested level in our first two games."
One of the major tasks for Arsene Wenger and his Arsenal players is to find a way to stop Bayern Munich from scoring goals. Bayern have been scoring goals for fun in all competitions as they have scored 19 goals in all competition in their last five matches.
Bayern have been fortunate to possess one of the most lethal strikers in Europe, Robert Lewandowski, who has been in rich goal scoring form, scoring 16 goals in all competitions. Wenger believes it is imperative for his team to enjoy a fair share of possession of the ball to stop the Polish striker, who has one of the best football techniques in the world.
"First of all the best way to combat him is for us to have the ball. After that you have to be shrewd with him (Lewandowski) because inside the box he is outstanding, because of his technique, his finishing, his movement inside the box," said Wenger.
Arsenal, who have to find a way to hand Bayern their first defeat, are required to get back to their winning ways in order to have any chance of progressing from the group stages. Hence the match is an important one for Arsenal, which makes Pep Guardiola, Bayern manager believe Arsenal are in an advantageous position.
"In this situation they have an advantage because for them they have to win. When that happens with these kind of players, in this sort of club, with this sort of history, they are going to make the best performance possible so I cannot expect a team that does not fight 90 minutes, fight for each other and in this situation they are in an advantage," said Pep Guardiola.
However, with goals and wins under their belt during the season, Bayern are going to the start the match as favourites despite some key players set to miss the game. Mario Gotze, Franck Ribery and Mahdi Benatia are key Bayern players set to the miss the crucial tie at Emirates.
Can Arsenal take advantage of such a situation?
Arsenal are also set to miss some key players including Jack Wilshere, Mikel Arteta, Danny Welbeck amongst others due to injuries. However, Petr Cech is expected to start under the bar for Arsenal.
Where to watch live
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Arsenal vs Bayern Munich is scheduled for a 7.45pm local time (12:15am IST, 8:45pm CET, 2.45pm ET) start. Ten Action will broadcast the match live in India, while the live streaming is available on Ten Sports Live.
Viewers in the UK can watch Arsenal vs Bayern Munich on BT Sport Ultra HD, with live streaming on Watch BT Sport or by downloading the BT Sport App.
US viewers have the luxury of watching the Arsenal vs Bayern Munich on Fox Sports 2 USA, while the live stream option is on FoxSoccer2Go.
