It’s almost time. The line-ups are out. The speculation has been done. We’ve all put our two pence in, and angrily debated our points. But all that is over now. It’s time to see how Arsenal cope against Bayern Munich, at their Bavarian fortress, fighting back from a 3-1 first leg deficit. The odds are heavily stacked against us, but who knows what can happen?
Lineup
This morning, all the newspapers were talking about how Arsene Wenger would name a weakened team, giving a side of fringe players a shot at the highest level. There was a lot of debate about this, with some saying Arsenal should never treat a CL knockout game as a training exercise, while others argued that finishing 4th in the Premier League is more important.
As it’s transpired, the side is more or less the strongest Arsenal can name. Tomas Rosicky replaces Jack Wilshere, while Sczceszny and Vermaelen are dropped/rested for Fabianski and Koscielny respectively. Kieran Gibbs makes a return, while Giroud starts.
Bayern in turn have named a side without Franck Ribery, or Bastian Schweinsteiger. However, they are replaced by Luis Gustavo and Arjen Robben. It’s not going to be easy, in the slightest.
But without belief, we’ve got nothing. It doesn’t matter what you think of X player or the manager, or our board, or anything. What matters is that the 11 men with the cannon on their chest give their all for the team. In all honesty, I don’t think many of us expect a victory. A decent performance, perhaps a draw or even a scraped victory. Even that’s pushing it. But as Adidas are so keen to remind us, Impossible is Nothing.
It’s really not long at all. Let’s form a prayer circle. Or just try not to cry.
Lineups:
Bayern: Neuer; Alaba, Van Buyten, Dante, Lahm; Gustavo, Martinez; Robben, Kroos, Muller, Manduzcik
Arsenal: Fabianski; Gibbs, Koscielny, Mertesacker, Jenkinson; Arteta, Ramsey; Cazorla, Rosicky, Walcott; Giroud
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