The two best teams in Europe right now - according to the Champions League table after four matchdays - Arsenal and Bayern Munich meet in a highly-anticipated heavyweight clash at the Emirates on Wednesday evening.
Both Mikel Arteta and Vincent Kompany have led their sides to 12 points from a possible 12 so far, but at least one perfect record will cease to exist when the final whistle blows.
Match preview
When Gooners took a glance at the Tottenham Hotspur team sheet on Sunday afternoon, they could have been forgiven for anticipating 90 minutes of toil and trouble against their North London rivals, who lined up with no fewer than eight defensively-minded players from the first whistle.
However, up stepped an attack-minded player who snubbed the Lilywhites in favour of those in red and white, as the electrifying Eberechi Eze scored the first-ever Premier League North London derby hat-trick in a 4-1 romping, one in which Leandro Trossard's deflected effort opened the scoring.
Even when Richarlison's outrageous long-range lob flew in, there seemed to be little concern among Arsenal fans at the prospect of a colossal Spurs comeback, and rightly so as the Gunners extended their lead at the Premier League summit to six points.
An astounding domestic and continental double can be considered a realistic goal for Arteta's title chasers, who have been nothing short of flawless in the 2025-26 Champions League so far - four games, four wins, 11 goals scored and zero conceded.
Only Bayern's superior goals scored tally is keeping Arsenal off of top spot in the 36-team league phase table, although results on Tuesday could bump both sides off of the podium places before their blockbuster battle.
Seldom outclassed at home in the competition, Arsenal head into Wednesday's headline encounter seeking a 16th successive Emirates win in the Champions League league-phase/group stage, but the toughest challenge that could possibly await them now awaits them.
Manager of Bayern Munich Vincent Kompany during his side's match against Mainz 05, on December 14, 2024
Bayern may not boast Arsenal's impeccable defensive record in this season's Champions League, but Vincent Kompany's troops have been on the goalscoring warpath and flexed their attacking muscles at the home of the holders on matchday four.
Luis Diaz's double propelled the Bavarians to a 2-1 win over Paris Saint-Germain at the Parc des Princes, although the Colombian then went from hero to zero when he was sent off on the stroke of half time, ruling him out of Wednesday's match through suspension.
Bayern's embarrassment of offensive riches came to the fore on Saturday, though, as Kompany's men pulled off a storming comeback from 2-0 down against Freiburg to prevail 6-2, thanks to no fewer than five direct involvements from the majestic Michael Olise.
Yet to suffer a single defeat in any tournament this season, Bayern's only aberration came just before the international break - a 2-2 draw with Union Berlin - but just seven clean sheets from 18 matches is hardly anything to shout about.
However, the German champions were perpetual nemeses of Arsenal during the Arsene Wenger era and head to the Emirates on a five-game unbeaten streak against the Gunners - winning four of them - although Arteta's men were only just edged out 3-2 on aggregate in the 2023-24 quarter-finals.
Arsenal Champions League form:
Arsenal form (all competitions):
W
W
W
W
D
W
Bayern Munich Champions League form:
Bayern Munich form (all competitions):
W
W
W
W
D
W
Team News
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The Arsenal bench was bolstered by the returning Noni Madueke and Gabriel Martinelli on Sunday, but Viktor Gyokeres (hamstring) and Martin Odegaard (knee) failed to make the cut, so both men remain serious doubts for the visit of Bayern.
Gabriel Magalhaes (hamstring) and Gabriel Jesus (ACL) are definite absentees this week, while Kai Havertz has suffered a setback in his recovery from knee surgery so will watch on helplessly from the sidelines too.
Bayer Leverkusen loanee Piero Hincapie excelled in Gabriel's place in the North London derby, so expect the Ecuadorian to form part of what will surely be an unchanged XI for the hosts, even with a top-of-the-table Premier League clash with Chelsea on the horizon.
However, Bayern will be forced into an alteration due to Diaz's sending-off against PSG and subsequent suspension - the former Liverpool man has been slapped with a three-match Champions League ban, meaning he has played his last European game of 2025.
Diaz's absence would be especially problematic if ex-Arsenal man Serge Gnabry also missed out, but Bayern are confident that the Germany international will return from the knee issue that kept him out of the eight-goal thriller with Freiburg.
Jamal Musiala (ankle) and Alphonso Davies (knee) are definitely missing for the visitors, so it is not impossible to envisage a start for 17-year-old phenom Lennart Karl, who became Bayern's youngest-ever UCL scorer earlier this season and contributed a goal and assist at the weekend too.
Arsenal possible starting lineup:
Raya; Timber, Saliba, Hincapie, Calafiori; Eze, Zubimendi, Rice; Saka, Merino, Trossard
Bayern Munich possible starting lineup:
Neuer; Laimer, Upamecano, Tah, Guerreiro; Pavlovic, Kimmich; Olise, Karl, Gnabry; Kane
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We say: Arsenal 2-2 Bayern Munich
Bayern conceded both of their goals against Freiburg from corners, so even a Gabriel-less Arsenal side can feel confident of exposing their visitors' dead-ball frailties, and the Gunners have also exhibited increased prowess from open play in recent weeks too.
Arteta's men may be considered slight favourites thanks to the absences of Diaz, Musiala and Davies for the visitors, but with Olise and Harry Kane consistently weaving their magic, we can only picture the two sides splitting the spoils in an absorbing stalemate.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
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