Bayern Munich vs Arsenal (3-1 agg) – Preview

Arsenal face a near impossible task of overturning a 3-1 deficit when they take on Bayern Munich in the second leg of their Champions League clash tomorrow night.

The Gunners are the only British side left in the Champions League and will need an extraordinary result to still be in it come the end of play on Wednesday night.

Their task will be even harder because star player Jack Wilshere is out with an ankle injury. Former Bayern Munich striker and Arsenal’s goalscorer in the first leg, Lukas Podolski, is also expected to miss the game with an ankle injury. Bacary Sagna is out too, so expect Carl Jenkinson to start this match at right-back.

Jack Wilshere will miss Arsenal’s Champions League clash with Bayern Munich tomorrow. The England international is expected to be out for 3 weeks.

Wojciech Szczesny has reportedly been ‘rested’ and other media sources claim the goalkeeper has been dropped following a loss of form. Lukasz Fabianski is in the squad for the game and he could well start.  Left-back Nacho Monreal is cup-tied having played for Malaga in the competition earlier in the season, but the Gunners have been boosted by the return of Kieran Gibbs to their squad.

Bayern Munich are coasting to the Bundesliga title this year. They also appear to be coasting into the quarter-finals of the Champions League. They will have to be wary of Arsenal on Wednesday. An early goal for the Gunners would perhaps test their nerves, but this is a team not used to conceding many goals. I would say that a Bayern goal of any sort would kill the tie off for good.

The hosts will be missing some key players on Wednesday though. Franck Ribery is injured and ruled out of the game, Arjen Robben faces a late fitness test and both Bastian Schweinsteiger and Jerome Boateng are suspended.

It’s very difficult to see Arsenal coming up with the 3-0, 4-2 etc wins required to send them through tomorrow night. They’ve been out of form for much of the past month or so and are really struggling. Arsenal may well need to win the Champions League this year to be in it next season as they are playing catch-up with both Chelsea and Tottenham in the league with little time remaining in the season.

Arsenal did come close to forcing extra-time against AC Milan last season after losing 4-0 in the first leg in Milan. They won 3-0 in the return leg and were 3-0 up at half time. However, they gave their all that night and couldn’t quite force extra-time or even go on and win in normal time, despite coming very close.

I think it’s fair to say I feel this tie is over. I’d love to be able to say I believe we will come back and progress, but it is very unlikely. We’re away from home and have a depleted squad. If we don’t embarrass ourselves I will be quite pleased to be honest. If we can win on the night and end our Champions League campaign on a high, it would at least make the trip worthwhile for those who travelled all the way to Munich to see this match. I’m dreading a thrashing in honesty.

My brother is in Munich at the moment and looking for a ticket to the game. I hope he finds one, although he has friends in Munich as he used to live out there, so the trip will certainly be worthwhile for him even if he can’t get a ticket. I’m sure he’ll be able to get one outside of the ground.

This COULD be Arsenal’s last Champions League tie for a while, you never know. I hope the fans go out there and sing their hearts out. I also hope the players give them a performance to be proud of.

It’s fair to say that Arsenal need nothing short of a miracle in Munich. That is something I would love to see, but we have to be realistic here. Bayern are a very good team and surely too professional to let this lead slip away. They’re German after all!. We can keep our fingers crossed and hope for the best though!.