Arsenal return to Champions League action as they welcome German giants Bayern Munich to Emirates Stadium in what promises to be a blockbuster clash between two of the best sides on the planet. Arsenal come into this fixture off the back of a comprehensive 4-1 home win over their North London rivals Tottenham. Trossard netted and Eberechi Eze scored a hat-trick, the first one between the two sides since 1978, in a comfortable evening at Emirates Stadium. That’s now 15 games in a row without defeat in all competitions for Mikel Arteta’s side, who now sit 6 points ahead of 2nd place Chelsea and 7 points ahead of Manchester City in 3rd, who were defeated 2-1 at St James’ Park. Bayern Munich come into this fixture off the back of an impressive 6-2 victory against Freiburg. The Bundesliga outfit did find themselves 2-0 down after 17 minutes, but after 17-year-old Lennart Karl found the net just after 20 minutes, they didn’t look back. Michael Olise scored a brace, and also provided 3 assists, Dayot Upamecano netted, and so did Harry Kane and Nicolas Jackson. Vincent Kompany’s side remain comfortably on top of the Bundesliga table on 31 points, ahead of RB Leipzig by 6 points after 11 matches. In that run, Bayern have scored an outstanding 41 goals and only conceded 8. The last time these two sides met came in the Champions League quarter-final second leg in 2023/24, when Joshua Kimmich scored the only goal in a 1-0 win after the sides drew 2-2 in London in the first leg. Arsenal couldn’t really have asked for a better start to their Champions League campaign. The Gunners have played 4, won 4, scored 11 and haven’t conceded a single goal, the only side in the competition who are yet to concede in this year’s Champions League. Last time out in the UCL the North London outfit faced Slavia Prague away from home, winning 3-0. Bukayo Saka scored from the penalty spot and Mikel Merino netted a brace. The Bavarians have also enjoyed an impressive start to their Champions League campaign. The Munich outfit have played 4, won 4, scored 14 and conceded 3. Last time out in the UCL Bayern defeated European Champions PSG away from home. Luiz Diaz scored a first-half brace and also got himself sent off, and as a result will not feature against Arsenal. Joao Neves scored for the hosts with just over a quarter of an hour to play, but it wasn’t enough as they were defeated 2-1. Mikel Arteta on Eze’s stellar display against Spurs: “He could have scored four or five. He’s a big player who can create magic moments which unbalance a team. I’m so happy for him, because since the day he came he brought something else to the team. It’s a joy, it’s an aura that this team needed and hopefully it will give him a lot of confidence that at any moment he can win us a game.” “When he picked up the phone, I remember last summer, he said he wanted to play for us and wanted to be part of this team. You can really sense that.” Vincent Kompany on Arsenal: They’re the best team in Europe at set pieces. I think it’s a good challenge. I don’t know if there are many better teams than Arsenal in Europe at the moment. We’re looking forward to the game. Arsenal have plenty of players that can hurt Bayern, one of those being Eberechi Eze. The English attacking midfielder will be full of confidence following his derby day hat-trick. Another player that could potentially hurt Bayern is Leandro Trossard. The Belgian has had a very bright start to his 2025/26 campaign, scoring 5 and providing 5 assists in 15 matches, including a goal and 2 assists in 3 Champions League outings. Bayern Munich have numerous players that Arsenal should look out for, including one familiar face in Harry Kane, who loved to score in a North London Derby. The 32-year-old has enjoyed an incredible start to the 2025/26 season, scoring 27 goals, 5 of those coming in 4 Champions League games, and providing 4 assists in 23 matches. Another player Arsenal need to nullify is Michael Olise. The Frenchman has 12 goals and has provided 10 assists in 23 matches. The 23-year-old will go up against former teammate Eberechi Eze, who he enjoyed a brilliant partnership with at Crystal Palace.
