Arsenal will lock horns against the mighty Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena in the Champions League Round of Sixteen’s first leg on 15th February. The Gunners would unarguably march to the German soil as the underdogs to face a monumental task to up their chances of getting into the quarter-finals but the recent history stands heavily guarded against their intentions. The German champions are at the peak of the form as well as the German Bundesliga table, the latest reminder of the same being their 2-0 win away from home against FC Ingolstadt.
Arsene Wenger’s troops have rediscovered their footing in the Premier League after grinding out a win against a struggling Hull City outfit and just when the scenario seemed to develop in their favour, Carlo Ancelotti’s outfit would stand in their way to rattle their hopes of clinching the ever-elusive Champions League title. Although the fixture is frighteningly against Arsenal, they can pull off a shocker against the side which has been quite nightmarish for them and here are three ways by which they can silence the Bavarians.
1. A Solid Defensive Display
Without any shadow of a doubt, the Gunners’ defense would hold the most important key to making Bayern Munich suffer. The home side is needed to be silenced by a resolute defense to be led by Laurent Koscielny alongside Shkodran Mustafi in the central defense.
The likes of Thomas Muller and Robert Lewandowski are needed to be frustrated by eliminating the spaces in their backline and their full-backs must curtail the crosses to secure David Ospina. Ancelotti would pan tactics which would tempt Wenger’s defenders to lose their positions whilst marking their men but instead of falling prey to their game plan, Arsenal’s experienced defenders must isolate Bayern Munich’s attacker from their midfield.
2. Arsenal’s Attacking Triumvirate Must Fire
Winning the midfield possession battle would not be as much of a starry affair as making an impact from the chances created. It has to be underlined that the North London outfit have had their share of the upper hand in their outings against Bayern Munich and this time around, it is important that they finally get into the final eight by winning the games and not only hearts.
The trio of Alexis Sanchez, Mesut Ozil, and Theo Walcott are likely to be engineered behind Olivier Giroud who should expect to start up front, but it is their attacking midfield setup along with their box-to-box midfielder (most likely, it would be Granit Xhaka) who need to click as a unit.
3. Arsene Wenger Has To Be Shrewd
Monsieur Wenger has been getting a lot of sticks as he has once again been victimized by immense criticism. The Frenchman must pan out tactics prior to as well as during the game to make sure that he goes into the second leg in a commanding position. Thiago Alcantara, Arturo Vidal, and Xabi Alonso wouldn’t hesitate in creating a catastrophe for the English outfit but Wenger is paid to outsmart them, isn’t he?
He must motivate his side, use his personnel (who are expected to start from the bench) like Lucas Perez, Kieran Gibbs, Alex Iwobi and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain at the crucial moments in the game very prudently and silence the hostility he has been facing.
