Arsenal round-up: Wenger discusses Bayern tie; Perez ruled out; Oxlade-Chamberlain believes club can qualify

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Tonight will tell us a lot about what we can expect from Arsenal over the coming weeks, as the match at the Allianz Arena could define their season. It is important that they secure a respectable result to take back to North London. Arsenal’s issue in recent seasons has been that they have let the tie get beyond them in the first leg and they can’t let history repeat itself. Arsene Wenger is cautiously optimistic about the tie and that has been reflected in his pre-match press conference:

“When you look at their record, they are always basically in the last four, so it is a massive challenge but we are capable of dealing with it. We have an advantage to play the second game at home. But we know as well every minute of tomorrow’s game will have a big influence on our chances at home to knock them out.”

Although it is an advantage to have the second leg at home, it only matters if Arsenal can remain in the tie away from home. Their performances against the top six away from home this season have been worrying and they will need to improve that if they are to escape Germany with a good result. They have the ability to get an away goal and they need to look for one, otherwise the task in the second leg could be above them.

One player that won’t be available for Arsenal tonight is Lucas Perez, who has been ruled out with a hamstring injury. The Spaniard wouldn’t have been a likely starter, but he could have been a good option from the bench. His best performance for Arsenal came in the Champions League as he scored a hat-trick against FC Basel, but this is against a much better opposition. He joins Aaron Ramsey and Santi Cazorla on the treatment table, but Granit Xhaka will be available.

It is disappointing that Perez will be missing for the English side, as he does have the ability to make an impact from the bench. However, Arsenal will be relieved that none of their regulars have been ruled out. They can go into the match with a nearly full-strength side, with only Santi Cazorla missing from their strongest eleven. Wenger also has options from the bench, with Danny Welbeck and Olivier Giroud capable of making an impact if required. It will be interesting to see how he lines up this evening.

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is one of those pushing for a start after some impressive performances in the centre of midfield. He could be the only player capable of filling in for Santi Cazorla and many Arsenal fans will be hoping that he retains his place, despite the return of Granit Xhaka. The English international has been discussing Arsenal’s past matches with Bayern Munich and believes there is reason for optimism:

“So we’ve had good experiences and we’ve had bad experiences and you know, there’s times when we’ve struggled against them and it proves what a great team they are, and there’s times where we’ve turned up and we’ve done really well and it proves they’re not immortal.”

During the 2013/14 season, the year that Bayern Munich went onto win the Champions League, Arsenal managed to win at the Allianz Arena. They were 3-1 down from the first leg, but they ran out 2-0 winners in Germany and came close to beating the odds to qualify. This shows that they can beat Bayern Munich on their own patch and they need to use those memories to their advantage. It is going to be a difficult tie for the Gunners, but Oxlade-Chamberlain is right to look for reasons to believe.

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