5 reasons why Arsenal can beat Bayern Munich again

When all seemed to be lost for Arsenal in their Champions League campaign after two disastrous losses against opposition that should have been put away, they needed to win against the best team in Europe in the form of Bayern Munich. And win they did, pulling off a surprising 2-0 win at home, giving them hope for the rest of the group stage campaign.But now, they must do it again, and at the Allianz Arena. And although it wonât be easy, it is quite possible that Arsenal could do the double on the German champions.Here’s why.

#1 Arsenal\'s form and momentum

The Gunners are in excellent form at the moment, with October being a particularly good month for them. Apart from the blip in the League Cup, which most fans would be secretly thanking the stars that the squad won’t have more games in a hectic schedule, Arsenal have been winning games with conviction. Wins against Everton and Swansea show the confidence the team is in, with these games usually the ones the North London club struggles to get all three points off.

And, of course, the confidence of having already beaten Bayern Munich would be an added boost when they take the field at the Allianz Arena.

#2 Arsenal have done it before

For Arsenal, it won’t be the first time they would be going to the Allianz Arena needing a win. They have been in a similar situation before, albeit in the Round of 16 back in 2013 when they needed a good away win if they were to qualify for the quarter-finals. Arsenal couldn’t complete the job, but they did manage a 2-0 win over Bayern, which actually helped steady their season from the confidence boost they got.

In 2014, they also managed to draw them 1-1, so it is not exactly new ground for Arsenal. They will take either result with both hands.

With better players in the team now, they will not be intimidated by the atmosphere at the stadium, where the German fans will be their loudest. Having not lost there in the last two fixtures will give them enough confidence to get the job done.

#3 Organised back 5

After what seems like ages, Arsenal have a steady back 5 that can actually shut out the opposition without the fans having their hearts in their mouths every time the ball goes anywhere near the penalty area. Petr Cech has made an immense difference to the team, which makes fans continue to wonder what might have been if he was played in the first two games in the group stage rather than David Ospina.

The centre-back pairing of Per Mertesacker and Laurent Koscielny are in prime form, and knowing that Gabriel is chomping at the bits on the subs bench is helping them make sure they are at the top of their game.

Nacho Monreal has earned his place with a lot of hard work, and he doesn’t want to lose his starting spot again, and so is motivated to not give Arsene Wenger the option of dropping him. And Hector Bellerin has continued to be a revelation, with Mathieu Debuchy not even getting a look-in the way the youngster is playing.

All five of them are in great form and it can be said with reasonable confidence that Arsenal can shut out Bayern one more time.

#4 Bayern are slow starters

Bayern Munich are unusually slow starters, and it is imperative that Arsenal take the game by the scruff of the neck in the early stages of the match.

In the same way they did in 2014, the first 20 to 30 minutes of the game will make a huge difference to how it all pans out against Pep Guardiola’s side. If Arsenal can score a goal in that time and keep Bayern out, then the Gunners have a great chance of taking another famous 3 points in Europe.

#5 Pressure is on Bayern Munich

There would be immense pressure on Bayern Munich to get a result from this game. And the goalless draw that they had with Eintracht Frankfurt over the weekend would add further frustration for the team and the manager.

It already seems to be getting to the players with one of them coming out and saying it is difficult for them if teams just put 10 men behind the ball.

Bayern need to make a statement and this time the onus will be on them to get the result, which would mean Arsenal have a better chance to counter attack, especially since they will have to work with the ball-holding Olivier Giroud rather than the pacy Theo Walcott.