For Arsenal this is it. Dumped out of the Capital One Cup by Bradford, not in contention for the league and thanks to an abysmal display on Saturday against Blackburn, out of the FA Cup as well.

The Champions League is Arsenal’s only chance of silverware this season, and the task doesn’t get much tougher than against German super-heavyweights Bayern Munich.

While Arsenal had begun to show some grit and steel in their performances in recent weeks, all was undone in an effortless, lacklustre performance against Championship Blackburn.

Bayern Munich on the other hand have seen different fortunes and are currently 15 points clear at the top of the Bundesliga.

Previous Meetings

Arsenal’s two previous meetings with Bayern Munich in the Champions League won’t give Arsenal fans much hope for this fixture.

In 2000/1, Arsenal drew 2-2 at Highbury and lost 1-0 away in the second group stage of the competition, whilst most recently in 2005 in the round of 16, we lost 3-1 in Munich, and won 1-0 at home, resulting in an Arsenal exit 3-2 on aggregate.

Team News

Arsenal are without a left back for the tie, due to Gibbs’ injury, Nacho Monreal being cup-tied and Andre Santos being shipped out on loan back to Brazil. This leaves Wenger with a few un-ideal options.

The most likely option would be to put Vermaelen at left back and have Koscielny and BFG play in the centre together, however, there is uncertainty over Koscielny’s fitness.

He could also shift Sagna to left back and play Jenkinson at right back, or he could go for the risky option to play the inexperienced Miquel in that position.

Whilst Arsenal have near enough a whole squad to choose from, Bayern on the other hand are missing a few players. Striker Claudio Pizarro and defender Holger Badstuber are both missing through illness/injury, while Jerome Boateng is suspended for the first leg.

However, they have been boosted by the return of Spanish midfielder Javi Martinez, who was a £34 million signing in the summer.

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