Having won our first four league phase matches, we now take on Bayern Munich in a top-of-the-table clash at Emirates Stadium on Wednesday (8pm).
It promises to be a mouthwatering showdown in N5 as the German champions head to north London, as we look for a remarkable 13th consecutive Champions League group and league phase home matches without conceding.
Vincent Kompany’s side are in sparkling form across all competitions, sitting top of the Bundesliga, Champions League league phase and comfortably through to the round of 16 in the German Cup. But their last trip to England ended in defeat, going down 1-0 to Aston Villa at Villa Park last season.
blistering bayern
Nine straight league wins saw Bayern come storming out of the Bundesliga traps to leave their rivals in their dust. Saturday saw them continue their rampant form, thumping Freiburg 6-2 to put them six points clear at the top.
Victories over Wehen Wiesbaden and Koln have seen them progress to the last 16 of the German Cup. They also boast a 100% record in the Champions League, keeping us off top spot on goals scored. They began with a 3-1 home win over Chelsea before thrashing Cypriot side Pafos 5-1 and Club Brugge 4-0. They then travelled to Paris to take on the holders PSG, when a brace from Diaz, before he was red carded, paved the way for a 2-1 statement success.
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Everything you need to know about Bayern Munich
what the managers say
Arteta: “This is the kind of game that we want to face, and we’ve been very consistent. They have been as well and tomorrow is a great test for us to see where we are. Every opponent brings different challenges. They are in a great moment. The level of consistency they show in resource, performance, in every metric that they have is very, very impressive. We know that, but it’s also a massive opportunity for us to show what we are capable of.
Read every word from Mikel’s pre-match press conference at the Sobha Realty Training Centre now!
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Every word of Mikel’s pre-Bayern Munich presser
Kompany: “We won our first four matches, which was important. So far, we’ve done what we set out to do, and we hope that this continues. But playing against this team will be the most difficult task we face at the moment. We’re happy about that – that’s why we’re here, that’s what we want. When I look at how Mikel has developed his team and developed himself, they play with great physicality. He works with great attention to detail with his teams, which have very few weaknesses. That’s Arteta’s character.”
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Team News
Noni Madueke and Gabriel Martinelli both returned to the matchday squad in our win over Tottenham and have trained with the first team once again this week. Martin Odegaard, who missed out on Sunday’s north London derby triumph, also trained with his teammates at the Sobha Realty Training Centre on Tuesday.
Speaking about the trio, he said: “They [Martinelli and Madueke] are [available], and we’re going to have a meeting now, to decide on Martin [Odegaard]. He was very close for the previous game, so we are hopeful that tomorrow he can be in the squad as well.”
Mikel also revealed that Kai Havertz and Viktor Gyokeres are making good progress in their recoveries, as both are due for further scans on their respective injuries.
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Arteta gives update on Havertz and Gyokeres
As for Bayern, they will be without Luis Diaz, who has been suspended for three Champions League matches following his red card for a tackle PSG’s Achraf Hakimi in their previous league phase contest.
Former Gunner Serge Gnabry missed out on Bayern’s 6-2 win over Freiburg with a knee issue but is expected to return to the matchday squad. Jamal Musiala, who suffered a broken left leg and ankle dislocation in Bayern’s Club World Cup quarter-final loss to Paris Saint-Germain, and Alphonso Davies, who suffered an ACL tear in March, are longer-term absentees.
Talking tactics
Adrian Clarke, writing in the official matchday programme: Vincent Kompany sets his team up in a 4-2-3-1 formation – he has used that shape in every game – with two holding midfielders at the base of the engine room. Those four players protect the spine, with the rest of Bayern’s XI given freedom to attack in a set-up that often morphs into 2-2-6. There is a lot of fluidity in the way the German champions play, with positional rotations one of the key methods they use to drag opponents out of shape. The three units work in harmony, and there is a thirst for creativity and to score goals. Bayern are joint leaders in the competition (14), while also boasting the highest xG (12.34). Their astute head coach has his own methods, but tactically, in essence, the former Manchester City defender wants his team to play like the side he was part of under Pep Guardiola.
Bayern Munich are a possession-heavy outfit who want to control matches with their sharp distribution, making the fourth-highest number of successful passes in this season’s UEFA Champions League. Their build-up play is fast, attractive to watch and devilishly difficult to contain. Yet they are far from being one-trick ponies. Kompany’s men will also press opponents with intensity, and have forced a league-phase high 43 high turnovers across their four matches so far. Three of those transitions in advanced areas led to goals. When the ball changes hands, they can explode forward at great pace. The Germans also love to build up moves in the wide areas, where they are blessed with outstanding quality.
Former Crystal Palace winger Michael Olise has been in wonderful form, oozing creative magic whenever he cuts inside from the right flank. His silky ball carrying, coupled with the service he puts into the box for Harry Kane, is top class. The 23-year-old is also capable of scoring goals himself. Bayern Munich love to slide through balls through gaps for runners. They have made 19 in four games, with Olise (4), Raphael Guerreiro (4) and Joshua Kimmich (3) those with the most imagination. Defensively, Kompany has also made them a formidable unit. As a group they work tirelessly for each other, and their well organised structure makes them hard to break down. The discipline of Kimmich and Aleksandar Pavlovic, with and without the ball, knits them together nicely. As if that wasn’t enough, this Bayern side can also be deadly on the break. In the Bundesliga, despite monopolising the ball, they still top the charts for most goals from counter-attacks.
Bayern Munich do not have many noticeable flaws. That said, five of the last 13 goals they have conceded came from corners or free kicks, so we must look to utilise our power and invention from set pieces this evening. There is also a feeling their centre backs and central midfielders can be forced into errors if you press them with conviction.
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Facts and stats
We have faced Bayern Munich 14 times before in the UEFA Champions League, the most times they’ve ever faced a side in the competition.
We have won each of their last eight UEFA Champions League group/league phase games by a combined 24-2 scoreline – it’s already our longest such run in competition history.
Bayern Munich have lost just three of their last 52 UEFA Champions League group stage equivalent games (W45 D4). All three defeats in that time have come away from home.
We are the only team yet to concede a goal in the UEFA Champions League this season, while we rank first for both expected goals against (1.94) and shots on target faced (7).
Arsenal and Bayern Munich were two of the four teams who didn’t go behind in any of their opening four matches in the UEFA Champions League this season (along with Internazionale and Manchester City).
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Gallery: 41 photos as we get ready for Bayern
Match officials
Italian referee Marco Guida will be the man in the middle for our clash against Bayern Munich. This will be Marco’s first time refereeing us since the 2023/24 season, when he took charge of our 2-1 defeat against French outfit, RC Lens.
His only match refereeing Bayern Munich came in the 2021/22 campaign, a 5-0 victory over Dynamo Kyiv. In the 2025/26 season, Guida has dished out 41 cards across his 10 games as the referee, with eight of those cards coming across four Champions League matches.
Referee: Marco Guida (ITA)
Assistant: Filippo Meli (ITA), Giorgio Peretti (ITA)
Fourth official: Fabio Maresca (ITA)
VAR: Aleandro Di Paolo (ITA)
Assistant VAR: Marco Di Bello (ITA)
previous meetings
We have faced Bayern competitively 14 times in our history, all of which have come in the Champions League. The first meeting was in December 2000 when we were pegged back from 2-0 ahead to draw 2-2 in the second group stage, before losing 1-0 in March 2000 in Munich.
Bayern have knocked us out of the competition on five occasions, four of which came in the round of 16 stage. The first came in 2004/05 when, despite a 1-0 win at Highbury, we lost 3-2 on aggregate. A 2-0 success at the Allianz Arena wasn’t enough to overturn a 3-1 loss in the first leg in 2013, while we also bowed out to the Germans in 2014 and 2017. Our last meetings came in the 2023/24 quarter-finals, where a Kimmich goal secured a 1-0 win for Bayern in Bavaria after the sides had drawn 2-2 in N5.
Our other meetings came in the group stage in 2015/16, when we won 2-0 at Emirates Stadium thanks to goals from Olivier Giroud and Mesut Ozil, the third and last time we beat Bayern.
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Chips & wonder goals: Our history vs German giants
Live coverage
Want to savour the pre-match build-up but can’t make it to the game? We’ve got you covered with our special show, Live from N5.
We’ve got an action packed show tonight, starting at 6.45pm all the way to live commentary when you can listen to all of the action as it happens. Our show will kick off with team news and a tactical insight from our very own, Adrian Clarke. We’ll also see a host of special guests, including former striker Alex Lacazette and UK rapper Tinie Tempah.
There’s also time for a host of fun games to get you in the mood ahead of tonight’s showdown, so make sure you tune in!
You can also find out which broadcaster is showing the action live, wherever you are in the world.
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How to watch Arsenal v Bayern Munich on TV
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