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Following their comfortable 3-0 win over Brighton at the weekend that saw them return to the top of the Premier League, Arsenal host Bayern Munich in the Champions League this evening.
They beat Porto on penalties in the last round but will be hoping to produce a positive result to take to Munich next week in the return leg.
Injury News - Arsenal
Arsenal are closing in on a fully fit squad but it has been noticeable that certain players have had their minutes managed in recent games. Bukayo Saka, who picked up an injury prior to the international break, returned to the side on Saturday having been rested against Luton Town. Gabriel Martinelli is another player who has recently recovered from an injury sustained against Sheffield United. He has featured as a substitute in each of Arsenal's last three games.
Gabriel Jesus has also been talking about his role within the side, and suggested that he has not played football for the past year without experiencing some pain. He is expected to feature though.
Jurrien Timber has continued to step up his recovery from an ACL injury and was seen training this week. Although he is not expected to be involved, there is a small chance he could feature in the squad given the increased size of Champions League squad lists.
Away from injuries, Declan Rice and Kai Havertz are both at risk of missing the second leg if they pick up a yellow card.
Injury News - Bayern Munich
Bayern have been without a host of players in recent games but they welcomed back five players to training yesterday morning in Manuel Neur, Aleksandar Pavlovic, Kingsley Coman, Leroy Sane and Noussair Mazraoui. Sacha Boey and Bouna Sarr are both ruled out.
Form
The Gunners made it ten wins from their last 11 league games on the weekend and sit top of the Premier League. Their only defeat this calendar year came in the first leg of the Champions League last-16 tie with Porto.
Bayern Munich sit 16 points off Bundesliga leaders Bayer Leverkusen and have all but surrendered the title. Having won the title for 11 successive years, it represents a huge blow to the club. They led 2-0 away to Heidenheim on the weekend but eventually lost the match 3-2.
Recent History
Arsenal have played Bayern 12 times in their history and have won three, drawn two and lost seven times.
They have lost their last three games to the German's 5-1. Their last victory came at The Emirates in 2015 where late goals from Olivier Giroud and Mesut Ozil gave them a 2-0 win.
Played For Both
Harry Kane famously came through the Arsenal youth system before eventually being released and signing for Tottenham Hotspur. Serge Gnabry represented Arsenal from 2011 until 2016 before he returned to Germany. Lukas Podolski also played for both clubs, having spent three years at each.
Prediction
Arsenal made tough work of their last-16 tie with Porto before eventually coming out on top. They have not been past the quarter-final stage since 2009. Regardless of the domestic form of Bayern Munich, this will be a really tough game for Arsenal and an even tougher tie.
They have the capabilities of coming through the tie but the first goal has to be to take an advantage to Germany.
Arsenal 2-1 Bayern Munich
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