There’s one thing for sure Per Mertesacker has been key to Arsenals success this season with his defensive partnership with Koscielny flourishing.

The much improved German has recently just signed a new deal and spoke to Sky Sports about the month ahead.

The month ahead

“These are all decisive games," Mertesacker told Sky Sports' Weekend Warm-Up. "There are no points to drop anymore. They are vital games and we are up for it. "I think it's up to us as to how close we can stay to the top. We have to concentrate on ourselves and we have to stay as close as possible to the top and that's the most important thing to us.

This weekend marks the North London which is highly anticipated by the whole of North London itself and means so much to the players.

Podolski was keen to talk about the derby and how he would like to add to his goal from last year by telling Arsenal Player the following:

“I’ve always liked derbies. When I played in Munich, or Cologne or even here in Arsenal I always liked derbies because there’s a special atmosphere and it’s a special fight.

“We want to go there, get the three points and drive back home. This is important for us. We must fight for the club, for the fans and I think this is an important game so I look forward to Sunday now.”

Ozil has turned out to be a significant injury blow by looking like he is out for weeks. This means he will miss crucial matches against the likes of Spurs, Chelsea, Manchester City and even the FA cup semi-final.

This was confirmed on Twitter by the BBC’s David Ornstein who said the following

“Ozil damaged hamstring in 2nd minute of Tuesday's Champions League exit at #FCBayern but played on until being substituted at half-time #afc”

“Arsenal set to be without Mesut Ozil for at least 4 weeks (likely to include FA Cup semi) after scans show significant hamstring strain #afc”

The main question which will be asked is why did he play on from the 2nd minute which could have further damaged the hamstring.

Tomorrow could form one of Arsenal’s biggest moments in their history and can shape how this season could end.

Most Arsenal fans are saying the tie is over but the optimist will point to last year’s result. It will be difficult but the boys will give everything.

All the talk has been about this humongous challenge and here are some of the views.

Wenger’s Verdict

Wenger certainly knows the enormity of the challenge which lies ahead and summed it up well which was courtesy of Sky Sports.

Following the Gunners successful passage into the Semi-Final of the FA Cup, their attention now turns back to the Champions League, where they will look to overturn a 2-0 deficit against the current holders of the trophy.

Arsenal may have gone to Munich last year and won 2-0, however, this Bayern side appears to be a step above the one that one the treble last year, so this will be no easy task for Wenger’s boys in Munich.

Team News

Arsenal will have Kieran Gibbs out missing for the trip to Munich after the English defender picked up an ankle injury in the game against Everton. Yaya Sanogo is also out injured with a foot injury from the weekend. However, Laurent Koscielny is fit again and ready to return to the starting line-up after recovering from a knock he picked up on international duty.