In what is the 200th Champions League game in our history, we begin our quest to reach just a third-ever semi-final when Bayern Munich head to north London on Tuesday night.
While historically our record against the German giants isn’t great, much has changed since our last encounter seven years ago. Bayern’s decade-long monopoly on the Bundesliga title is ending after being swept aside by Bayer Leverkusen, and they head to north London on the back of successive league defeats. Meanwhile, we sit top of the Premier League thanks to a run of nine wins from our last 10, and yet to concede a goal at home in the competition this campaign.
Another daunting prospect for Bayern comes with UEFA banning their supporters for the use of pyrotechnics in their last-16 clash against Lazio. Therefore our home will be a sea of red, filled with Gooners hoping to roar our side into the best possible position ahead of the second leg in Bavaria eight days later.
With that additional home advantage in mind and 60,000 Gooners packed into our home, we are urging all our supporters with a ticket to wear something red if they can to help create an incredible spectacle for our players.
Misery for Munich
The six-time European champions have had a season to forget under Thomas Tuchel, who will depart at its conclusion after their 11-year domestic dominance finally ended now they trail unbeaten Leverkusen by 16 points with eight games to go.
Draws in September against the champions-elect and RB Leipzig saw them playing catch-up early doors, and six defeats since, including their last two games – a 2-0 loss to Borussia Dortmund and squandering a 2-0 half-time lead to lose 3-2 at Heidenheim, have seen all title hopes fade. That is despite the goals of Harry Kane, who has 32 in just 28 league matches, including four hat-tricks.
Early exits in the two domestic cup competitions mean Bayern could go trophyless for the first time since 2012, unless they go all the way in the Champions League. They topped a group including Manchester United, Copenhagen and Galatasaray without losing a game, but did fall to a 1-0 defeat in the first leg of their last-16 clash against Lazio. However, a Kane brace plus a Thomas Muller strike saw them progress at Allianz Arena.
Arteta: “They’re a tough team. I’m a big fan, a big admirer of Thomas [Tuchel], his teams, the way they settle and play, the way they transmit. I learn a lot about him and looking at Bayern and when you are analysing this league, you see why they are a top team.
“We have prepared very well, and we have to take our game where we want it, and if we do that, we have a chance to win. We haven’t had this opportunity for 15 years, so that tells you how special this night is going to be for us, so we’re going to have to put everything into every ball to make it happen.” – read every word from Mikel’s pre-match press conference
Tuchel: “We have more experience in the Champions League. It’s different in the Champions League compared to the Premier League. We want to use that to our advantage. We’ve been rightly criticised after our performances in the cup and the league. We accept that. The consistency in our performances wasn’t what we expect from ourselves.
“Arsenal are currently the best team in the Premier League, all statistics prove that. They’re in fantastic form. They’re also the best team in Europe from set pieces. We’re a little behind. We know about their strengths, how we want to hurt them.”
Team news
After Bukayo Saka returned from injury against Brighton, Arteta has virtually a full squad to select from except for long-term injury victim Jurrien Timber.
However we have two players who are treading a disciplinary tightrope, as Kai Havertz and Declan Rice would miss the second leg through suspension if they booked at Emirates Stadium.
Bayern could see veteran goalkeeper Manuel Neuer return between the posts after he missed the last two games with a thigh injury, but has returned to training and travelled with the squad to England.
Aleksandar Pavlovic, Kingsley Coman, Leroy Sane and Noussair Mazraoui all missed the Heidenheim defeat on Saturday but were also on the plane, however right-backs Sacha Boey and Bouna Sarr are out. Alphonso Davies and Leon Goretzka are one caution away from suspension.
Talking tactics
Adrian Clarke, writing in the official matchday programme: Tuchel is renowned as a smart tactician who can operate with different systems, but 4-2-3-1 has been his first-choice formation this season.
Bayern target gaining control of the game through sustained possession, while off the ball they like to press with great determination, and force turnovers high up the field – a non-negotiable for Tuchel.
They are blessed with a rich array of forward talent, and during their six matches in March they netted an impressive 18 goals. Jamal Musiala [above], Thomas Muller and Leroy Sane are an exceptionally talented attacking midfield trio, and if they are not on top form the likes of Kingsley Coman and Serge Gnabry are alternatives.
Munich love to attack, but when plays breaks down a soft centre has been exposed. They have only conceded seven in the Champions League, but in the Bundesliga poor defensive displays have blighted them. Shipping seven goals from counter-attacks in domestic competition, they are vulnerable to swift breaks. Tuchel has regularly tinkered with his defence, but at no stage have they ever looked consistently secure.
Facts and stats
We have never lost the first leg of a Champions League quarter-final (W2 D4), although we’ve progressed from just two of those ties.
We have won all four Champions League matches at Emirates Stadium this season without conceding a single goal.
The German side have been eliminated from the competition at this stage in each of the last three campaigns, losing the first leg each time. They have won just one of their last five away games in the knockout rounds of the Champions League.
Bayern have only lost one of their last six away games against English sides in the Champions League, with their only defeat in that run coming against Manchester City last season.
Bayern have lost their last two away games in the knockout stages of the Champions League (0-3 v Manchester City and 0-1 v Lazio); the last time they lost three in a row away from home in the knockout rounds was between April 2009 and April 2010.
Saka has been directly involved in seven goals in seven appearances in the Champions League. The last player to register more goal involvements in a single campaign for us was Alexis Sanchez in 2015/16 (eight).
Should he start and score in this game, Gabriel Jesus would become just the fifth player in Champions League history to score in each of his first five starts for a specific club.
Leandro Trossard has scored in all three of his Champions League starts at the Emirates this season, scoring the Gunners’ winner in their 1-0 victory against Porto in the last round.
David Raya has kept a clean sheet in all four of his Champions League appearances at the Emirates, making 11 saves in the process. Keylor Navas and Alisson Becker are the only keepers to have kept a clean sheet in each of their first five home appearances in the competition.
Thomas Muller has scored five goals in seven Champions League appearances against us, only netting more against Barcelona (8 goals). In fact, only Lionel Messi (9) has netted more goals against the Gunners in the competition than the German.
Kane has scored 14 goals in 19 appearances against us. Seven of his last 10 have come from the penalty spot, including four of his five goals at Emirates Stadium. Kane has ended on the winning side in just one of his nine away games against us, losing each of his last three trips to the Emirates.
Match officials
Swede Glenn Nyberg has been handed this game, the second of our Champions League fixtures this season he has taken charge of following our 2-1 win in Seville. He has been overseeing matches in the top tier of his homeland since 2013, and three years later was added to the FIFA list.
This is his second season refereeing in the Champions League, and has been the man in the middle for four games in the competition this campaign, including Bayern’s 4-3 win at Manchester United in September. He was also selected to be a referee at the Nations League finals last summer.
Referee: Glenn Nyberg (SWE)
Assistants: Mahbod Beigi (SWE), Andreas Soderqvist (SWE)
Fourth official: Adam Ladeback (SWE)
VAR: Pol van Boekel (NED)
Assistant VAR: Dennis Higler (NED)
