Arsenal expert Charles Watts has predicted how many changes Mikel Arteta will make for Wednesday's blockbuster Champions League battle with Bayern Munich at the Emirates.
The Gunners and the German champions both enter the heavyweight clash aiming to maintain 100% records in this season's competition, having each taken 12 points from a possible 12 while registering a +11 goal difference.
Vincent Kompany's men are only above Arsenal courtesy of a superior goals scored total, but Arteta's men have justtrounced North London derby rivals Tottenham Hotspur 4-1in the Premier League and have scored more open-play goals than any other English top-flight side in November.
However, with Chelsea to come this weekend, Watts believes that Arteta will consider three changes for the visit of Bayern, including both full-backs and a potential alteration on the wings following Noni Madueke and Gabriel Martinelli's returns from injury.
“You have to rotate a little bit," Watts told Sports Mole. "It's Mikel Arteta, so he's not going to do masses. There are lots of Arsenal fans saying massively rotate for this one, Chelsea is the bigger game, we're already going to qualify in the Champions League. It doesn't matter too much if we lose.
“There's absolutely no way on earth Mikel Arteta will look at it like that. But he has to make some changes. I would absolutely rest the fullbacks - I'm crying out for Jurrien Timber to be rested. He was brilliant again at the weekend, but he's playing so much football. He played twice for Holland, played again against Tottenham, definitely going to play against Chelsea. Just feels like the perfect occasion to rest him and start Ben White.
Charles Watts predicts three changes for Arsenal against Bayern
“But Ben White seems so on the fringes. I asked Mikel about Ben White and was surprised by his answer. I thought it'd be more about minutes, injuries and just making sure he's ready, but the answer was more like, he's just got to earn his place back in the team. You can't do that if you're not giving him any minutes! So I'm very worried about Timber.
“I’d also play Lewis-Skelly, give Calafiori a rest - he looked knackered at the end against Spurs. You've got Martinelli, Madueke available, can you do something there? Rest Trossard? Three changes is probably the max we'll see, but I could certainly see the argument for four or five. But I think probably three.”
The thought of a clash with Bayern Munich formerly filled Arsenal fans with dread, as the reigning Bundesliga champions inflicted frequent defeats on the Gunners during the latter stages of Arsene Wenger's reign, most notably the 10-2 aggregate thrashing in 2016-17.
Bayern also dumped Arsenal out of the Champions League in the 2012-13 and 2013-14 seasons, as well as earning their first of three straight 5-1 wins over the North London side during the 2015-16 league phase.
We 10-2 have a good time against Arsenal ? pic.twitter.com/opNiUzuJNp
— ?? FC Bayern US ?? (@FCBayernUS) November 25, 2025
However, Arsenal were only just edged out 3-2 by Thomas Tuchel's Bayern Munich in the 2023-24 quarter-finals, and the Bavarians have conceded twice in each of their last two games, shipping two from corners in the weekend's Bundesliga clash with Freiburg.
Kompany's side pulled off a storming comeback from 2-0 down to win that contest 6-2, but while Watts is anticipating a "belter" of a game on Wednesday, he has confessed that he already has one eye on Chelsea.
Why Chelsea is more important than Bayern for Arsenal
© Imago / Sportimage
"I'm interested to see how Mikel approaches it," he added. "I still feel Chelsea is the more important game. I'm not massively excited about Bayern - I just can't take my eyes off Chelsea. It’s so big for Arsenal.
“But it's still a big game. Arsenal are making statements week in, week out at the moment, but if you can beat Bayern in the form that they're in, it sends out a huge statement about where this Arsenal team is and how seriously they have to be considered in the Champions League.
“Bayern have little-brothered Arsenal for a long, long time now. It’s just been horrible result after horrible result, almost with that patronising tap on the head from Bayern. It'd be nice to end that run, get one over them, put on a dominant display and really send out a message.
“I would really like to beat them, but out of the two games, Chelsea has to take preference. But it should be an absolute belter of a game. Bayern were brilliant against PSG and you'd expect they're going to be in full force again.”
Bayern will be without Luis Diaz following his red card in their2-1 win over Paris Saint-Germain on matchday four, but Serge Gnabry is expected to overcome a knee issue to start against his old team.
> Click here to listen to the full preview for Arsenal vs. Bayern Munich in the Champions League