Match Focus: Four Key Battles Ahead of Arsenal's Welcome of Bayern

Arsenal’s welcome of Bayern Munich on Tuesday night is, without question, a crucial fixture for the hosts. The Gunners have lost their opening two Champions League games this season and run the real risk of crashing out of the competition at the group stages. A double-header with Bayern is not what they will have wanted to navigate as they look to rescue their chance of progressing to the next round of Europe’s elite competition. However, Arsenal often fulfill their potential when their backs are up against the wall and they need to show this quality once more at the Emirates Stadium when they face the Bundesliga champions. 

Coming into this highly anticipated fixture, Bet365 have an offer on that enables you - the user - to place a pre-match bet on the encounter and get a risk-free in-play bet of the same value. It's a gamble to take for a potentially high reward. As such, we at WhoScored.com have looked at four key battles that could determine the outcome between Arsenal and Bayern on Tuesday night. 

Petr Cech vs Robert Lewandowski 

With David Ospina ruled out through injury - and given his poor showings against Dinamo Zagreb and Olympiakos - Petr Cech will start between the sticks for the Gunners against Bayern, much to the relief of fans. After a shaky Premier League debut for the Gunners, the Czech Republic international has solidified his new side’s backline and currently boasts the best save success rate (84.2%) in England’s top tier. No goalkeeper has kept more clean sheets in the Premier League this season than Cech (5) and he will need to be at his best in order to deny Europe’s in-form frontman. 

Bayern’s 1-0 win at Werder Bremen on Saturday was the first in seven matches for club and country that Robert Lewandowski has failed to hit the net. The Poland international bagged 15 goals in his previous six outings, including the now famous five-goal haul in the space of nine minutes against Wolfsburg. The 27-year-old has scored more goals (12) than any other player in Europe’s top 5 leagues this season, while his WhoScored rating (7.99) is the best of all players in the Bundesliga. 

Only Cristiano Ronaldo (5) has scored more goals than Lewandowski (3) in the Champions League this term and he is expected to spearhead the Bayern attack in north London. Cech must be on top of his game in order to deny Lewandowski in front of goal over the 90 minutes as the Arsenal shotstopper gears up for his first Champions League outing since March. 

Francis Coquelin vs Thomas Müller 

When Francis Coquelin returned from his loan spell at Charlton, no Arsenal supporter will have expected the Frenchman to have such an immediate impact at the Emirates. He has quickly emerged as one of their most important players, forming a solid partnership alongside Santi Cazorla in the middle of the park. His importance is magnified in that only Claudio Yacob (98) has made more tackles in the Premier League in 2015 than Coquelin (96). His WhoScored rating in that time (7.64) is the fourth best of all Arsenal players, further highlighting his value in the current Gunners set-up. 

His defensive qualities will be put to the test against the Bundesliga giants on Tuesday, given Bayern’s dominance in this area of the pitch. Coquelin is likely to be tasked with limiting Thomas Müller’s influence in the final third. Müller has developed a knack of finding space in attack, with this perhaps his strongest trait. The German has utilised this quality to net 9 league goals this season to contribute to a WhoScored rating of 7.67. Müller has performed well at the Emirates in the past too, netting in each of his last two appearances away at Arsenal and providing a further assist in that time against Arsene Wenger’s side. 

Coquelin has proven his worth time and again for Arsenal following his return to the Emirates, but Tuesday’s welcome of Bayern could yet be his toughest task in a Gunners shirt. If Müller is firing on all cylinders, the Arsenal midfielder could be in for a long evening. 

Héctor Bellerín vs Thiago Alcántara 

Héctor Bellerín has quickly established himself as a regular starter for Arsenal, taking advantage of Mathieu Debuchy’s injury woes to cement his place in the team. He has not disappointed for the Gunners, with his WhoScored rating this season (7.60) bettered only by Anthony Martial (7.77) of Premier League players aged 20 or under. Meanwhile, no player in Europe’s top 5 leagues this term has created more clear-cut goalscoring opportunities than Bellerín (7). The offensive threat he provides from deep offers another dimension to Arsenal’s attack and any team should tread cautiously when he presses forward. 

Bellerín, though, must show some restraint in order to avoid being caught out by Bayern’s superb attack. Thiago Alcántara in particular is a player who could capitalise on the right-back’s inclination to press forward at a whim to help pick off Arsenal. Only Hulk (9.47) has gained a better WhoScored rating than Thiago (9.34) of players to start both Champions League matches this season. Meanwhile only Mathieu Valbuena (11) has played more key passes than the Bayern star (10), who has registered the most assists (3) in the competition so far. When the Spaniard gets the ball at his feet, he is a tricky player to stop and Arsenal need to be wary of the threat he carries from midfield. 

In Bellerín, Arsenal have at their disposal one of the finest attacking full-backs in Europe football, though his defensive naivety is a concern. If he fails to perform his responsibilities at the back, Thiago, among others, could have a field day in the final third as Bayern look to secure victory in the capital. 

Alexis Sánchez vs Philipp Lahm 

After a slow start to the season, Alexis Sánchez looks to have rediscovered his best from, and just in time as far as the Gunners are concerned. Seven goals - and an assist to boot - in his last four outings for the club is the ideal preparation for the welcome of Bayern as Alexis strives to drag Arsenal to their first win in the Champions League this season. A WhoScored rating of 8.84 is the best of all players for Wenger’s side in the competition thus far and he needs to put in a similar performance to ones shown against Dinamo Zagreb and Olympiakos if he is to make his mark on tonight’s encounter. 

That, though, will be easier said than done, with the consistent Philipp Lahm set to meet Alexis in what could be one of the most hotly contested battles on the Emirates pitch. Given Pep Guardiola’s abundance of options in midfield, Lahm has often be deployed in a more familiar right-back role after a foray in midfield last season and he has certainly not disappointed as his WhoScored rating in the Champions League (7.36) suggests. Only a handful of teammates are averaging more passes per game than Lahm (59.5) in European competition with his ball retention and knowledge of the game unsurpassed. He will once more need to demonstrate his supreme defensive awareness in order to stifle Alexis. 

The Arsenal star has swiftly re-emerged as the Gunners’ most potent offensive threat and is expected to be tasked with putting the Bayern backline to the sword. His understanding with those around him - in particular Mesut Özil and Theo Walcott - needs to be quelled if the German side are indeed to come away with a positive result. Lahm’s calmness in defence must resonate throughout the backline if Bayern are to keep the fearsome Arsenal attack at bay.