How Arsenal can get past Bayern
Arsenal supporters must be feeling a sense of déjà vu today, after the club was handed a tough draw against Bayern Munich in the last 16 of the Champions League. The same fixture this time last year saw Arsenal crash out after a second leg win failed to make up for their capitulation in the first game at the Emirates. So what can the Gunners do to change their destiny at the second time of asking? talkSPORT looks at how Arsenal can stop Bayern…
Isolate Dante
Bayern are formidable both in their quality on the ball and in their physicality off it, but they aren’t faultless across the pitch. Since Pep Guardiola has switched to a single holding midfielder rather than the midfield pairing Jupp Heynckes preferred last season, the Munich side’s centre-backs have been exposed to one-on-one battles with opposition forwards more often than they used to be, and Dante in particular tends to struggle in those situations. The Brazilian has seen two yellow cards in his last two Champions League outings, and conceded penalties in both games, so if Arsenal can manage to leave him isolated with someone like Aaron Ramsey, they could provoke mistakes from the defender.
Take advantage of narrow full-backs
One major difference between Guardiola’s Bayern and Guardiola’s Barcelona is the positioning of the full-backs. While Barcelona relied on Dani Alves for width, with Guardiola asking him to help overload opponents in their box, at Bayern, he instead asks Rafinha and David Alaba to tuck in and provide extra passing options in the middle of the pitch. The disadvantage however is that space is left in wide areas that can be exploited. Aware of this deficiency, Guardiola asked his full-backs to play a more traditional role against Borussia Dortmund last month, conscious of their pace on the break. Bayern won 3-0. Arsenal tend to have their ‘wide’ midfielders come inside, so Guardiola may not see the Gunners as a big threat down the flanks, meaning Arsene Wenger could surprise him by starting Theo Walcott. Guardiola tends to see his side’s failings early and adjust, so they would have to take advantage quickly.
Imitate Dortmund
Pep Guardiola was not exaggerating when he said that the biggest challenge for Bayern in the Bundesliga is learning how to prevent other teams from hitting them on the counter-attack. The Catalan found that out first hand when Dortmund defeated his team 4-2 in the German Super Cup, and though he has worked hard to try and prevent similar occurrences, opportunities to score against Bayern can still be found on the break. At their best this season Arsenal’s counter-attacking has been excellent. Olivier Giroud is key, just as Robert Lewandowski is to Dortmund when they play on the break. While the Frenchman doesn’t share the Pole’s incredible touch in front of goal, like Lewandowski, he is strong in his link-up play and is good with his back to goal. Giroud should be an obvious out-ball for Mesut Ozil to target when Arsenal win back possession on the edge of their own area, and if the Frenchman’s touch is true, he could help to create something for his side.
Keep a clean sheet in the first leg
Easier said than done! Conceding an away goal in the first leg could be a disaster for Arsenal. If they manage to keep a clean sheet at the Emirates, then suddenly the balance of the tie swings towards their favour, with one goal essentially worth double in the return leg. How Arsenal go about doing that is a different story. Some teams have opted for sitting back and ‘parking the bus’ in an attempt to do so, but as Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea found out in the European Super Cup, Bayern are relentless in their quest to score and tend to find the net sooner or later. No side have managed to keep a clean sheet against Bayern in all competitions this season to date. If Arsenal can become the first, they have a huge chance of going through.
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