Gunners drawn against Bayern in Champions League last-16

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger will be hoping his side can get the better of German giants Bayern Munich this time around

Surprise surprise Arsenal have been drawn against Bayern Munich in the last-16 of the Champions League. Most Arsenal fans were predicted that they would get either Bayern or Real Madrid.

If you ask me they got off lightly with the draw against the Bavarians, as Real have looked far more impressive this season than their German counterparts.

The draw is definitely not the favourable one Gunners fans or staff would have been hoping for that is for sure.

The north London club have waited so many years to top their group to get an ‘easy’ draw and then they draw Bayern Munich. How unlucky and predictable.

Familiar foes

These two teams know each other very well from playing each other in three of the last four seasons in the Champions League. Last season the two teams met in the group stages that saw Bayern record a 5-1 win at the Allianz Arena, while Arsenal triumph 2-0 at the Emirates Stadium.

The previous encounters came in the last-16 when on both occasions the Bavarian side prevailed and eliminated the Gunners from the competition. The draw was not one that either would have particularly relished.

Bayern’s recent hoodoo over the Gunners has made them the German champions become a slight bogey team for the side from north London. However, Bayern have not been in sparkling form this season under Champions League legend Carlo Ancelotti.

Arsenal look stronger this season

Arsenal for the first time in recent years have won their group and at the moment they are in very good form. However, these games do not take place until February and by then the Gunners form could have taken an alarming dip, which is what has happened so many times in recent campaigns.

If the Gunners can maintain their form until February then this could be the year that Arsene Wenger’s side finally get past the last-16. Arsenal at the moment look like they could give anybody a game and Bayern Munich will be no exception.

The German champions have not been their usual dominant selves in the Bundesliga or the Champions League this season. Bayern seems to have recovered their form of late with four straight wins, but it has taken them time to adapt from Pep Guardiola’s management style to that of Carlo Ancelotti.

If they are at full-throttle and Arsenal are as well then it could be a fantastic tie for the fans, or more likely the neutral. I suspect that Gunners fans will be more hopeful of victory this time around than in the last few meetings with the Bavarian giants.

Tie is not a foregone conclusion

Some fans are already writing the obituaries for Arsenal’s Champions League campaign, writing the Gunners chances of making the last-16 off. For me, having watched a lot of Arsenal and a bit of Bayern this season this tie is not a foregone conclusion.

Defensively Bayern can be got at and they have kept just one clean sheet in their last ten outings in all competitions. Luckily Arsenal’s main strength is their sparkling attacking play and they will cause the Bavarian giants major problems in both legs of the game.

The Gunners are now so adept at counter-attacking with speed through the likes of Alexis Sanchez and Theo Walcott that they are perfectly set-up for away games. The big question marks will be about the Gunners mental toughness.

Questions have been asked of the Gunners mental toughness in the past, as they have wilted under the pressure of expectation. Every season they look set to prove their doubters wrong and handle the pressure and every season they fail.

Will this be the season that the side from north London finally hold it together? We shall see, but at odds of 20/1 to win the competition the bookmakers obviously do not believe the Gunners are realistic contenders this season.

Arsene Wenger’s side may not win the competition. However, the way the Gunners have played in recent weeks and months I would not write them off against Bayern in the last-16.

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