adminBayern silenced the Gunners 3-1 in London last month to put themselves in the driving seat for a spot in the quarter-finals for the third time in the last four seasons.
Only twice in the Champions League has a team lost the home leg of a knockout round match and survived by winning the away leg. Ajax Amsterdam did it in 1995-96 against Panathinaikos and Inter Milan did it in the last 16 in 2010-11 — coincidentally against Bayern.
The Germans won 1-0 in Milan in the first leg, before losing 3-2 at home and going out on the away goals rule.
Arsenal though have two goals to make up and must overcome the psychological disadvantage of having been completely outplayed by Bayern in north London — something coach Arsene Wenger was at pains to point out before the squad left for Germany.
“We’re chasing the game in a very difficult environment against a team that has no doubts at all,” he said.
“Our mentality is to go there, not resigned, but ambitious and provoke things, not go there and think ‘we will not qualify anyway’.
“No, not at all. We will go to Munich and have to go there and give ourselves a chance to qualify with everybody believing we can do it.”
Arsenal’s brilliant midfielder Jack Wilshere is, however, out of tonight’s Champions League trip to Bayern Munich after failing to recover from the ankle injury he collected in the 2-1 defeat by Spurs nine days ago.
He was left behind when the team flew to Bavaria yesterday, and is not expected to recover in time for Saturday’s vital trip to Swansea.
Wilshere will miss tonight’s Champions League trip to Bayern Munich and England’s World Cup qualifier double-header in San Marino and Montenegro after picking up an ankle injury in Arsenal’s defeat at Spurs.
The midfielder has been recuperating in Dubai after sustaining the problem in the Gunners’ 2-1 reverse at White Hart Lane on March 3.
Wenger said: “Wilshere has an inflamed ankle, the other ankle. He will be out for Bayern, Swansea and for England.
“Hopefully for the Premier League, he will only miss one game because of the international break.
“I noticed recently he has had to dig deep for us, it’s not welcome for us but he needed a breather.
“But it’s more preventative. We trust our people who are specialists.”
Roy Hodgson will select his England squad tomorrow but must plan without the 21-year-old for two crucial ties.
Wilshere has seven senior caps and was seen as an important component of Hodgson’s starting line-up after making an eye-catching return to national service in the victory of Brazil at Wembley last month.
England face San Marino on March 22 and then travel to Montenegro four days later for a game which could decide who tops Group H and gain an automatic place at the 2014 World Cup finals in Brazil.
Wilshere missed all of last season with a stress fracture of his ankle and had not recovered in time to represent England at Euro 2012 in the summer.
He will sit out Arsenal’s Premier League trip at the Liberty Stadium on March 16 but will hope to return against Reading at the Emirates at the end of the month.
Tonight, Arsenal are also likely to be without defender Bacary Sagna, who is nursing a long-term leg injury, and forward Lukas Podolski, who has an ankle injury, though German Per Mertesacker would love nothing more than a victory back in their homeland.
Probable teams
Bayern Munich: 1-Manuel Neuer; 21-Philipp Lahm, 5-Daniel Van Buyten, 4-Dante, 27-David Alaba; 8-Javi Martinez, 30-Luiz Gustavo; 25-Thomas Mueller, 39-Toni Kroos, 10-Arjen Robben; 9-Mario Mandzukic
Arsenal: 1-Wojciech Szczesny; 25-Carl Jenkinson, 4-Per Mertesacker, 5-Thomas Vermaelen, 2-Abou Diaby; 14-Theo Walcott, 8-Mikel Arteta, 19-Santi Cazorla, 10-Jack Wilshere; 9-Lukas Podolski, 12-Oliver Giroud
Referee: Pavel Kralovec — Soccernet
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