by Arsenal fans were barely expecting the most recent visit of Bayern Munich, in March 2017. Among the few hundred, there was active defiance: a march to the Emirates from Avenell Road, where the Highbury art deco front was at the front. to the east The remains of a stand, in which banners called for Arsène Wenger to end a long but fading tenure. Within three hours those placards were being brandished inside the ground by the masochistic souls who stayed until the end of another 5-1 defeat, the third consecutive embarrassment at that scoreline against the reigning Bundesliga champions. This should have been a meeting of the continental powers; rather it was a shame.
On Tuesday the same supporters will bounce into the stands. It is far too early to say that the tables have completely turned but, for now, Arsenal and Bayern have seen their situations flip around. A slick, clinical, closely-drilled machine will face an erratic, porous side filled with talented but mercurial individuals and led by a manager whose time is almost up. It would appear that Mikel Arteta’s side can claim to be the first of those, and will enter this quarter-final as small, invincible favorites when Arturo Vidal finished the rout to the boos and the stadium was emptied seven years ago.
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Arsenal’s biggest Champions League game since 2010 lacks the hopelessness of their last appearance at this stage. Back then they were delighted to overhaul the 2-0 lead established by Guardiola’s Barcelona boss in the home leg, after barely a first-time kick was awarded, but the Camp Nou barely had a prayer and four were knocked down goal. from Lionel Messi. There is less reason to be alarmed this time around and Arteta has realistic hopes of leading the Bavarians next week: Bayern have conceded at least twice in each of their six home games away from home and, at modest Lazio in the last 16, they failed. to defeat at the odd goal.
Maybe they don’t hold the old mystique. Arteta was only on Arsenal’s books as a player for the first of the 5-1 games and was not involved on the day, but he started against them three times during that period in the mid-2010s when it seemed magnetically attract these clubs. Looking across the halfway line towards Philipp Lahm, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Arjen Robben, Franck Ribéry, Thomas Müller, Toni Kroos and his colleagues before kick-off it was impossible not to detect an aura.
“It’s that presence and security that they transmit within their body language,” Arteta recalled. “Because they’ve done it and they have the assurance that they can do it again, and that’s really important. That team also had some world champions and they were tough.”
Müller and Manuel Neuer are still around to spread some of that gravitas; perhaps it should not be forgotten either, that the visitors have a player in Kingsley Coman who decided the Champions League final in favor of Bayern. Even in turbulent times a club of its stature could sustain itself through that descent: Bayern can take to the Emirates pitch with some kind of muscle memory, a belief in their institutions’ ability to make it through the biggest stage, which Arteta knows. hard hit.
“They have experience and they’ve gone through a lot of those moments and that’s in their history,” he said. After all, the six-time winner of Europe’s biggest prize will be facing a club that is yet to break its duck. How can Arsenal have the confidence raised by those Bayern players who gave them the upper hand on a regular basis? “Win,” replied Arteta. “Win and win and win, be more sure of yourself, and with experience.”
Arteta was in no mood to grab the Harry Kane factor. It could be argued that the sight of former Spurs nemesis is more likely to be kryptonite for his players than any sight of a Bayern shirt. Kane has scored 14 goals in 17 Premier League appearances against Arsenal, although it’s worth noting that only four of those have come in the last seven. His 38 goals left Bayern largely immune to the opprobrium of struggling colleagues. Given Kane’s well-documented personal mission to lift the Champions League trophy, the identity of the opponents he aims to stop will certainly add an extra edge to his night.
“He has the service and players around him to provide those opportunities; this is what we have to try to avoid,” was Arteta’s only substantial response to the matter. He will know Arsenal are in better shape than ever to stop Kane: in their 11 top-flight games since the start of the year, they have conceded four times and conceded less than five of the expected goals with them. The figures show that they are only an external narrative: they are the kind of rhythm that Arteta himself says breeds success.
Although the Emirates was half-full by the time Bayern cleaned up last time, on Tuesday it will have more Arsenal fans than ever after supporters were banned for misconduct during a previous tie this. Opposing those dark days is another point and Arteta, as usual, was not shy to encourage the potential influence of the crowd. No one can take away those many bargains from Bayern but Arsenal can reduce them to layers in the sand. “That’s their history and they deserve it,” said their manager, who is unlikely to be subject to protests anytime soon. “We have to create our own.”
