FOR THE FIRST few months of the season, Arsenal’s purchase of Mesut Ozil from Real Madrid looked an inspired one.
The German international was at his influential best, scoring and creating a number of goals and looking every bit a £42.5million player.
However, his performances of late have been considerably more erratic and the player’s display against Bayern in the first leg was a case in point. Having missed a penalty early on, Ozil seemed to lose all confidence and energy, seemingly playing on autopilot for the remainder of the game.
Nevertheless, against Everton in the FA Cup on Saturday, the player was back to something like his best — coolly slotting home the opening goal and playing an integral role in their consummate destruction of the Toffees, winning a deserved man-of-the-match award in the process.
Ozil is a player who, when confident and fully fit, is as good as any midfielder in the world, as Arsene Wenger acknowledged in his post-match interview at the weekend.
“I think the goal was important for him,” he said. “You sometimes want him to take more of a chance because he always looks for the good pass.
“I hope this encourages him, but what I also liked about him was that he looked physically regenerated with more power in his runs.”
The pressure will be on him tonight though — failure to perform will inevitably lead to accusations that he can’t mentally handle the big occasions.
2. Who will win the possession battle?
In the first leg, despite being the away side, Bayern had a near-monopoly on possession against Arsenal — something the Gunners are used to doing to their opponents.
The Germans were helped by Wojciech Szczesny’s sending off in the 36th minute and this undoubtedly played a big role in their dominance — Arsenal had just 31% of the possession in the first half and 12% after the break.
And the Gunners, naturally, are considerably less dominant with the ball in Europe, generally speaking. In the Premier League, they have the fourth highest possession percentage of any side, while in the Champions League, they only rank 10th (Bayern, meanwhile, are first).
Moreover, it seems inconceivable that Arsenal could play the type of containment game that Chelsea employed so successfully against Barcelona in their semi-final two seasons ago, even when ignoring the fact that they badly need goals this evening.
So Arsene Wenger’s side will ostensibly need to somehow beat Pep Guardiola’s men at their own possession-based game, with big performances required, in particular, from the likes of Mikel Arteta, Santi Cazorla and Mathieu Flamini in midfield.
Advertisement
3. How big a loss will Wilshere and Ramsey be?
PA Wire / Press Association Images
PA Wire / Press Association Images / Press Association Images
(Jack Wilshere will miss tonight’s game through injury)
One of the main reasons why Arsenal have faltered somewhat of late is Aaron Ramsey’s extended sabbatical from the game.
For the first half of the season, the Welshman was arguably the standout player in the Premier League. Having left many Gunners fans less than convinced of his prowess in previous years, his improvement this campaign has been obvious, as he’s established himself as a key member of the Arsenal squad.
Jack Wilshere, meanwhile, in addition to his exceptional technical ability, brings a level of steel to the Arsenal midfield that they are sometimes accused of lacking.
The Gunners didn’t suffer unduly as a result of their absences at the weekend, but they may be soon be lamenting their injuries, with Bayern even more likely to expose a team missing its British spine.
4. Are Bayern unbeatable?
Bayern Munich at times under Pep Guardiola have looked as formidable as Barcelona under Pep Guardiola at their peak.
On Saturday, they beat Wolfsburg 6-1 — it was their 16th consecutive win in the league, while they have not lost in the Bundesliga in 49 matches.
They won the treble last year, sit 23 points ahead of second-place Dortmund this season and are widely believed to be playing the best football out of any side in the world at the moment.
Their one blip was the loss to Manchester City in the group stages, which ended Bayern’s run of ten consecutive Champions League wins, however the result was irrelevant as far as the Germans were concerned, given that they were already effectively confirmed as group winners.
So in short, to say Arsenal are up against in their encounter with the European champions this evening is putting it mildly.
5. Can Olivier Giroud be the difference?
PA Wire / Press Association Images
PA Wire / Press Association Images / Press Association Images
(Giroud celebrates scoring Arsenal’s third goal against Everton at the weekend)
Seemingly owing to off-field pressures, Olivier Giroud was left on the bench against Bayern in the first leg of this tie.
His replacement, Yaya Sanogo, was ineffectual for the most part, looking as raw and inexperienced as you’d expect a 21-year-old making his Champions League debut to be.
Nonetheless, Giroud appears to have recovered since then, and was impressive in Saturday’s FA Cup tie against Everton, scoring twice after coming on as a 61st minute substitute.
The Frenchman may not be quite the world-class striker that Arsenal arguably need to make them serious contenders in the competition, but his record of 23 goals in 59 appearances is respectable enough, and the Gunners are undoubtedly a considerably superior outfit with him in the team.
6. How will Bayern approach the game?
The two sides met at the same stage of the Champions League last year, when Bayern went through on away goals following a 3-3 aggregate draw.
Similarly to this year’s encounter, Bayern established a commanding 3-1 lead in the tie during the first leg at the Emirates.
Yet in Germany, Bayern looked considerably less assured, adopting a far more cautious and somewhat hesitant approach compared with the first leg, and they were almost made to pay as a result, with Arsenal winning the second game 2-0.
Consequently, it will be interesting to see whether they can learn from their previous mistakes this time around and elect to play with their usual freedom despite the obvious temptation to adopt a negative mindset. Guardiola’s pre-match comments seem to suggest that this will be the case.
“The only way to avoid [defeat] is to keep the ball for ourselves — and obviously we have to be aggressive,” he said. “What I noticed about my team was that we are only good when we just think about attacking.
“If we start to speculate and think about what we may have done wrong in London, then they have a good chance to win and we won’t go through to the quarter-final.”
7. The elephant in the room
The sensational admission by Bayern President Uli Hoeness that he cheated the taxman out of €18.5million is bound to be discussed in the build-up to tonight’s game.
The news generated intense media interest in Germany, and it will inevitably be discussed by players in the dressing room as well.
Yet any suggestions that the team’s performance will be influenced are surely wide of the mark.
Though the Bayern stars have rallied behind the embattled Hoeness in the wake of these revelations, none have been personally affected by the saga, and so it is highly unlikely to distract them in anyway.
7 talking points ahead of tonight's Bayern Munich v Arsenal clash
1. Can Ozil step up to the mark?
FOR THE FIRST few months of the season, Arsenal’s purchase of Mesut Ozil from Real Madrid looked an inspired one.
The German international was at his influential best, scoring and creating a number of goals and looking every bit a £42.5million player.
However, his performances of late have been considerably more erratic and the player’s display against Bayern in the first leg was a case in point. Having missed a penalty early on, Ozil seemed to lose all confidence and energy, seemingly playing on autopilot for the remainder of the game.
Nevertheless, against Everton in the FA Cup on Saturday, the player was back to something like his best — coolly slotting home the opening goal and playing an integral role in their consummate destruction of the Toffees, winning a deserved man-of-the-match award in the process.
Ozil is a player who, when confident and fully fit, is as good as any midfielder in the world, as Arsene Wenger acknowledged in his post-match interview at the weekend.
“I think the goal was important for him,” he said. “You sometimes want him to take more of a chance because he always looks for the good pass.
“I hope this encourages him, but what I also liked about him was that he looked physically regenerated with more power in his runs.”
The pressure will be on him tonight though — failure to perform will inevitably lead to accusations that he can’t mentally handle the big occasions.
2. Who will win the possession battle?
In the first leg, despite being the away side, Bayern had a near-monopoly on possession against Arsenal — something the Gunners are used to doing to their opponents.
The Germans were helped by Wojciech Szczesny’s sending off in the 36th minute and this undoubtedly played a big role in their dominance — Arsenal had just 31% of the possession in the first half and 12% after the break.
And the Gunners, naturally, are considerably less dominant with the ball in Europe, generally speaking. In the Premier League, they have the fourth highest possession percentage of any side, while in the Champions League, they only rank 10th (Bayern, meanwhile, are first).
Moreover, it seems inconceivable that Arsenal could play the type of containment game that Chelsea employed so successfully against Barcelona in their semi-final two seasons ago, even when ignoring the fact that they badly need goals this evening.
So Arsene Wenger’s side will ostensibly need to somehow beat Pep Guardiola’s men at their own possession-based game, with big performances required, in particular, from the likes of Mikel Arteta, Santi Cazorla and Mathieu Flamini in midfield.
3. How big a loss will Wilshere and Ramsey be?
(Jack Wilshere will miss tonight’s game through injury)
One of the main reasons why Arsenal have faltered somewhat of late is Aaron Ramsey’s extended sabbatical from the game.
For the first half of the season, the Welshman was arguably the standout player in the Premier League. Having left many Gunners fans less than convinced of his prowess in previous years, his improvement this campaign has been obvious, as he’s established himself as a key member of the Arsenal squad.
Jack Wilshere, meanwhile, in addition to his exceptional technical ability, brings a level of steel to the Arsenal midfield that they are sometimes accused of lacking.
The Gunners didn’t suffer unduly as a result of their absences at the weekend, but they may be soon be lamenting their injuries, with Bayern even more likely to expose a team missing its British spine.
4. Are Bayern unbeatable?
Bayern Munich at times under Pep Guardiola have looked as formidable as Barcelona under Pep Guardiola at their peak.
On Saturday, they beat Wolfsburg 6-1 — it was their 16th consecutive win in the league, while they have not lost in the Bundesliga in 49 matches.
They won the treble last year, sit 23 points ahead of second-place Dortmund this season and are widely believed to be playing the best football out of any side in the world at the moment.
Their one blip was the loss to Manchester City in the group stages, which ended Bayern’s run of ten consecutive Champions League wins, however the result was irrelevant as far as the Germans were concerned, given that they were already effectively confirmed as group winners.
So in short, to say Arsenal are up against in their encounter with the European champions this evening is putting it mildly.
5. Can Olivier Giroud be the difference?
(Giroud celebrates scoring Arsenal’s third goal against Everton at the weekend)
Seemingly owing to off-field pressures, Olivier Giroud was left on the bench against Bayern in the first leg of this tie.
His replacement, Yaya Sanogo, was ineffectual for the most part, looking as raw and inexperienced as you’d expect a 21-year-old making his Champions League debut to be.
Nonetheless, Giroud appears to have recovered since then, and was impressive in Saturday’s FA Cup tie against Everton, scoring twice after coming on as a 61st minute substitute.
The Frenchman may not be quite the world-class striker that Arsenal arguably need to make them serious contenders in the competition, but his record of 23 goals in 59 appearances is respectable enough, and the Gunners are undoubtedly a considerably superior outfit with him in the team.
6. How will Bayern approach the game?
The two sides met at the same stage of the Champions League last year, when Bayern went through on away goals following a 3-3 aggregate draw.
Similarly to this year’s encounter, Bayern established a commanding 3-1 lead in the tie during the first leg at the Emirates.
Yet in Germany, Bayern looked considerably less assured, adopting a far more cautious and somewhat hesitant approach compared with the first leg, and they were almost made to pay as a result, with Arsenal winning the second game 2-0.
Consequently, it will be interesting to see whether they can learn from their previous mistakes this time around and elect to play with their usual freedom despite the obvious temptation to adopt a negative mindset. Guardiola’s pre-match comments seem to suggest that this will be the case.
“The only way to avoid [defeat] is to keep the ball for ourselves — and obviously we have to be aggressive,” he said. “What I noticed about my team was that we are only good when we just think about attacking.
“If we start to speculate and think about what we may have done wrong in London, then they have a good chance to win and we won’t go through to the quarter-final.”
7. The elephant in the room
The sensational admission by Bayern President Uli Hoeness that he cheated the taxman out of €18.5million is bound to be discussed in the build-up to tonight’s game.
The news generated intense media interest in Germany, and it will inevitably be discussed by players in the dressing room as well.
Yet any suggestions that the team’s performance will be influenced are surely wide of the mark.
Though the Bayern stars have rallied behind the embattled Hoeness in the wake of these revelations, none have been personally affected by the saga, and so it is highly unlikely to distract them in anyway.
The pressure’s on Neymar at World Cup – Pele>
Zlatan asks Twitter to change its 140 character limit just for him>
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Aaron Ramsey Analysis All-Ireland Senior HC UEFA Champions League Jack Wilshere Pep Guardiola Arsenal Bayern Munich