Germany legend Lothar Matthaus has highlighted Bayern Munich’s weakness ahead of Wednesday’s Champions League meeting against Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium.
Arsenal extended their lead at the top of the Premier League to six points following a 4-1 triumph over north London rivals Tottenham Hotspur.
The Gunners will now turn their focus to European action against Bayern, who are leading the Bundesliga table with 31 points from 11 matches.
Bayern are also top in the league phase of the Champions League ahead of Arsenal on goals scored. It promises to be an entertaining affair tomorrow.
Ahead of the game, Matthaus has predicted a high-scoring 2-2 draw between the clubs and believes Arsenal could exploit Bayern’s weakness from set-pieces.
He told Sky Germany: “Bayern Munich also has high ambitions. I expect them to perform similarly to their 2-1 win in Paris and try to take control from the outset.
“The team is well-drilled and confident in its strengths.
“The only weakness, which they already showed last season against Inter Milan, is conceding goals from set-pieces. In the Bundesliga, the team has conceded four goals from set-pieces recently.
“That’s something coach Vincent Kompany will be working on, especially since Arsenal are very dangerous on set pieces.
“Bayern have physically large and experienced players; they need to approach the game with even more focus. I expect a very close match and predict a 2-2 draw.”
Arsenal and Bayern have met 14 times in the Champions League. The Gunners have won three, drawn three and suffered eight defeats against the Bavarian outfit.
In recent times, the German heavyweights have had the upper hand. They have won four of the previous five meetings. Arsenal last beat Bayern 10 years ago at the Emirates.
Despite this, Arsenal should go into the game with plenty of optimism after a stellar north London derby win. As Matthaus said, set-pieces could prove Bayern’s downfall.
Vincent Kompany’s side were 2-0 down against Freiburg after conceding twice from corners last weekend, but they made a tremendous comeback to win 6-2 in the end.
The Gunners will no doubt pose a scoring threat against Bayern from open play. It remains to be seen whether they can replicate the same from set-pieces without Gabriel Magalhaes.
Magalhaes is on the sidelines for a few weeks with a thigh injury. Someone else will have to step up and make first contact with the ball, which the Brazilian has had the knack of doing.
Stats from Transfermarkt.com