Mikel Arteta has the luxury of making several changes to the Arsenal starting lineup on Wednesday night, even with a few big names nursing knocks.
Riccardo Calafiori
Riccardo Calafiori might not yet be ready to play twice a week
View 2 Images
Mikel Arteta could make several changes to the starting lineup when Arsenal face Bayern Munich. The Gunners will hope to climb the UEFA Champions League table when they face Vincent Kompany's side at the Allianz Arena on Wednesday night, as the race for automatic qualification to the knockouts builds a head of steam.
Arsenal have won each of their first two 'league phase' games, beating Napoli at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium and then Lille at the Emirates. Although the Gunners remain the only team yet to concede a goal in the competition, they're also the joint-lowest scoring team out of the 11 yet to lose a game.
Bayern Munich are unbeaten, too, but they've only got four points on the board. The German giants kicked off the campaign by storming past Bodø/Glimt before being held to a draw by Viking.
Make sure you never miss the latest Arsenal news and opinion by making Football London one of your Google preferred sources.
Interestingly, Michael Olise was shown a red card during the clash against the Norwegian outfit, so Arteta will at least have one less problem to think about on Wednesday night. With that being said, journalists at football.london have selected the Arsenal starting lineup to face Bayern Munich.
Get YOUR Arsenal Newsletter
All the best news, features, updates and analysis from Tom Canton and more straight to your Inbox!
Yours in just two simple steps.
Head THIS WAY
Enter your email and hit Subscribe.
Ryan Taylor
I can't shake the feeling that Myles Lewis-Skelly is going to play at left-back in Munich. Bruno Guimaraes came off in the second half at Nottingham Forest and will have enough in his legs to start.
At right-back, Jurrien Timber is ready to make his mark again while Ezri Konsa, Gabriel Magalhaes and MLS complete my back-four. In terms of midfield options, Martin Zubimendi is worthy of an opportunity soon but I think it will be Declan Rice and Guimaraes steering the ship again.
In attack, Noni Madueke will obviously come in for Eberechi Eze on the left flank following his winner against Nottingham Forest. Martin Odegaard will be crucial as the No.10 while Bukayo Saka is also due a big performance on the right flank after struggling at the City Ground.
I expect Mikel Arteta to go with Kai Havertz over Viktor Gyokeres up top. The German is under growing pressure to sustain his early-season form as the Swede is pushing for more minutes. Both will be key at the Allianz.
Ryan's starting lineup to face Bayern Munich: Raya; Timber, Konsa, Gabriel, Lewis-Skelly; Rice, Guimaraes; Saka, Odegaard, Madueke; Havertz.
Bukayo Saka
Bukayo Saka should start on the right for Arsenal(Image: Getty Images)
View 2 Images
Jake Stokes
Mikel Arteta only really needs to make three changes to the Arsenal starting lineup for the clash against Bayern Munich. As always, it should go without saying that David Raya must remain between the sticks at every opportunity, with neither Kepa Arrizabalaga nor Illan Meslier at the level required, whether that be in the Carabao Cup or the Champions League.
At right-back, I anticipate that Mikel Arteta will replace Ben White with Jurrien Timber, just as he did for the clash against Lille last week. Otherwise, Riccardo Calafiori, Gabriel Magalhaes, and Ezri Konsa continue in the backline. In the middle of the park, the Gunners boss should deploy Myles Lewis-Skelly, who was conveniently rested at the weekend, and Declan Rice.
Noni Madueke earned the right to start on the left with his performance at the City Ground on Sunday night, leaving Eberechi Eze on the bench. The rest of the frontline picks itself, with Martin Odegaard pulling the strings, Bukayo Saka on the right, and Kai Havertz up top.
Viktor Gyokeres started each of the first two 'league phase' games, but he doesn't belong in a fixture of this magnitude. The Arsenal striker could do well off the bench, though, if it's a little stretched in the final minutes.
Article continues below
Jake's starting lineup to face Bayern Munich: Raya; Timber, Konsa, Gabriel, Calafiori; Rice, Guimaraes; Saka, Odegaard, Madueke; Havertz.