Wilshere and Ramsey will miss out with injury, meaning the creative burden will lie with Ozil…
Here’s how we reckon Arsenal will line up against Bayern Munich tonight, facing the mammoth task of overturning a two goal deficit from the first leg.
GK) Lukas Fabianski
With Polish no.1 Wojciech Szczesny suspended, backup keeper Fabianski will face the daunting task of starting between the sticks against the best club side on the planet right now.
DR) Bacary Sagna
Sagna will no doubt start on the right of the back four, as he always does when fit. He will no doubt have to tame his attacking instincts though with Franck Ribery likely to be starting on Bayern’s left.
Click next page to read the rest of the team Wenger will likely pick!
DC) Per Mertesacker
Mertesacker is one of the first names on the Arsenal team sheet, and will be desperate to put in a strong defensive performance back in his home country. He’ll be very familiar with the Bayern side, as he plays with many of them in the German national team.
DC) Laurent Koscielny
The Frenchman is likely to shake off a knock and replace Thomas Vermaelen in Arsenal’s back line. Koscielny and Mertesacker have enjoyed a very solid partnership all season, although facing Bayern at the Allianz Arena will be one of their trickiest tests yet.
DL) Thomas Vermaelen
Nacho Monreal is unavailable due to injury, and Kieran Gibbs hasn’t traveled either because he too has an ankle problem. As a result, Thomas Vermaelen will likely deputise, facing the daunting prospect of dealing with an in form Arjen Robben.
MC) Mikel Arteta
With Jack Wilshere and Aaron Ramsey injured, Wenger has little choice but to deploy Arteta alongside Flamini in the centre of the park. To be fair, the latter mentioned pair are more solid defensively, so quite possibly would have been selected even if everyone was fit.
MC) Mathieu Flamini
Flamini will face an almighty task trying to win Arsenal possession in the middle, with pass masters Toni Kroos, Philipp Lahm and Thiago Alcantra helping Bayern average 69.5% of the ball in Europe this term.
AMR) Tomas Rosicky
This spot’s tricky, as Wenger could quite easily opt for Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain instead. Due to his increased experience and better ability to keep hold of the ball though, we reckon Rosicky will get a start, with the Englishman available as a dynamic bench option.
AMC) Mesut Ozil
German playmaker Ozil re-found his form against Everton in the FA Cup at the weekend, scoring the game’s opening goal and putting in an exceptional creative performance. Arsenal’s best chance of pulling off a shock result probably lies in the hands of the world-class 25-year-old.
AML) Santi Cazorla
Cazorla will likely start from the left, given the licence to cut in from the flank and link up with Arsenal’s midfielders, or shoot on goal with either foot.
FC) Olivier Giroud
Yaya Sanogo started last time out in the Champions League, and against Everton in the FA Cup, but Giroud will almost definitely be recalled. In a thirty minute cameo at the weekend, he impressively bagged twice.
