The UEFA Champions League quarter-final draw served up this intriguing clash between Premier League leaders Arsenal and Bayern Munich, with Harry Kane returning to play in North London for the first time since leaving Tottenham in the summer.
After watching Mikel Arteta’s side confidently despatch Brighton 3-0 on Saturday, he’ll know better than most what they’re up against, while Bayern squandered a 2-0 lead to lose 3-2 to Heidenheim on Saturday.
Their latest slip-up saw them drop 16 points behind Bayer Leverkusen in the Bundesliga, so the UCL remains their best chance of picking up silverware this season.
The Gunners are fighting for Premier League glory and are unbeaten in seven competitive matches (W6, D1) including victory over Porto on penalties to reach the Champions League quarterfinals.
Defensively sound in Europe this term, the Londoners are yet to concede in a UCL home game this season, winning four, but the last time they failed to keep a Champions League clean sheet here was when Bayern hammered them 5-1 in March 2017.
Overturning a 1-0 first-leg defeat in the round of 16 (just like Arsenal) to beat Lazio 3-1 on aggregate shows that the Bundesliga champions still remain a threat in Europe despite their poor domestic form.
Defeat to Lazio is their only one in this competition since losing to Manchester City last term (W6, D2), a run that includes three games unbeaten against English sides (W2, D1). That City defeat is also their only loss across their last seven UCL knockout away games against English opposition (W4, D2).
Players to watch: Bukayo Saka has been on target from the penalty spot in three of his last four Arsenal goalscoring appearances, while Bayern forward Harry Kane’s remarkable record against Arsenal.Â
The former Tottenham striker has Kane has enjoyed a record-breaking start in Germany with 38 goals in his first 37 games. He has scored 14 goals with three assists in 19 appearances against Arsenal.
