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Well, it’s a simply mouth-watering night in the UEFA Champions League tonight, as arguably Europe’s top two clubs come up against each other.
Both Arsenal and Bayern Munich have started their domestic seasons impeccably, as they sit top in both England and Germany respectively ahead of tonight’s continental clash.
The Gunners stretched their lead at the top of the Premier League table to six points after Sunday’s ‘Demolition Derby’ victory over Tottenham Hotspur, while Bayern have only failed to win one of their 11 games so far this season as they lead the Bundesliga by the same margin.
And both sides are, along with Inter, the only clubs to have won all four of their Champions League matches so far in the early stages of the league phase. Therefore, one record must give tonight!
Arsenal will need to stop a familiar foe
And there are absolutely no surprises as to who is the key talisman for this Bayern Munich side this season. North London’s very own Harry Kane.
It has been well publicised that the England captain was once part of the Arsenal youth system but fell by the wayside, with him going on to achieve sensational goalscoring records on the other side of North London.
And, right now, there’s a serious train of thought that he could well be in contention for England’s first Ballon D’Or since Michael Owen, as he has already hit 27 goals in 23 games across all competitions so far this campaign (if you include the FIFA Club World Cup).
This adds to sensational returns of 44 goals in 45 games in his first season in Bavaria (2023/24) and 38 in 46 last season (as well as reaching double figures for assists in each of his last two campaigns.)
Kane knows a thing or two about scoring against the Gunners as well, having netted or assisted 15 times in only 17 matches against his previous north London rivals.
Furthermore, he did return with Bayern in Arsenal’s Champions League knockout defeat to the German side two years ago, and scored a penalty in the first leg at the Emirates before Joshua Kimmich’s solitary goal sent the Bavarians through.
And, with the absence of Luis Diaz via suspension following his challenge on Achraf Hakimi in their last game against Paris Saint-Germain, the onus will be on Kane to step up and replace the Colombian’s output, as Diaz currently has 16 goal contributions in all competitions since making the switch from Liverpool in the summer.
It’s a potentially season-defining week for Mikel Arteta that has started as swimmingly as he’d have hoped. If his side wins this then they can be seen by many as the best in Europe, with the potential opportunity to go nine points clear at the top of the Premier League also coming up on Sunday against Chelsea.