Arsenal put to the test against Bayern in the Champions League | OneFootball

On one side, one of the most powerful teams of recent years and an eternal title contender. On the other, a consolidated giant used to lifting trophies. This Wednesday, the irresistible force of the Arsenal faces the immovable Bayern Munich at the top of the Champions League.

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Respectively leaders of the Premier League and the Bundesliga, with a wide lead over their pursuers, Londoners and Bavarians have also dominated the Champions—alongside Inter, they are the only teams with a 100% record in the first four matches.

The Germans have among their victims Paris Saint-Germain, the current European champion, defeated at the Parc des Princes in the last round.

The team coached by Vincent Kompany has also beaten a Premier League club, defeating Chelsea 3-1 in their debut.

The season’s numbers are impressive: 18 matches, with 17 wins and one draw. But Mikel Arteta’s Gunners want to be the first to make the German giant bleed.

The Londoners’ stats are also eye-catching: they have suffered only one defeat at the start of this season—to Liverpool in August (1-0)—and, in the Champions League, have scored 11 goals without conceding any.

Set pieces, the secret weapon

One of the ways Arsenal can hurt Bayern is through their elaborate set-piece strategy.

The Gunners are specialists at taking advantage of corners, wide free kicks, and even throw-ins to break down opposing defenses.

Bayern could be the ideal victim for this strength: the Bavarians conceded two goals from corners over the weekend, against Freiburg.

In the 2-2 draw with Union Berlin before the international break, the goals conceded also came from a corner and a free kick.

But the six-time European champions arrive at the Emirates with Arsenal’s kryptonite: Harry Kane, former Tottenham player, has already scored 15 goals against the Gunners in 21 games.

This season, the English striker has played 18 matches, scoring 24 goals—five of them in the Champions.

“This is the moment I’m enjoying my football the most…,” celebrated the 32-year-old striker on Saturday, after scoring twice in the 6-2 rout over Freiburg.

In April 2024, already with the German club, Kane scored at the Emirates in the first leg of the quarterfinals. The match ended 2-2, but Bayern advanced with a 1-0 win in the return leg.

Without Lucho and without Gabriel

The head-to-head record heavily favors Bayern: of the 14 times the clubs have faced each other, the Germans have won 8, drawn 3, and lost 3.

And those three Arsenal victories had little impact: two happened in knockout rounds where Bayern advanced on aggregate score, and the third came in the group stage of the 2015-16 season.

On that occasion, the Gunners won 2-0 in the third round… but were thrashed 5-1 in the fourth, in Munich.

Wednesday’s spectacle is guaranteed, but not all the pieces will be in action: Colombian Luis Díaz, Bayern’s new signing, will serve a suspension after a red card against PSG. Meanwhile, Brazilian Gabriel Magalhães, a pillar of Arsenal’s defense, suffered an injury while playing for the Brazilian national team.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.