Every word of Mikel Arteta’s pre-Bayern presser

A mouthwatering third Champions League match of the season awaits as we head to Germany to take on Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena.

We've taken maximum points from our opening two League Phase matches, thanks to a 1-0 win at Napoli and a 3-0 home success over Lille, as we go in search of a 15th straight win at this stage of the competition.

Bayern boast a formidable home record in this competition, having lost just one of their past 31 UCL ties at the Allianz. To get in the mood for this huge matchup, we've taken a deeper look at the form, tactics and much more in our big match preview!

Bayern come into this game still unbeaten in the Bundesliga after six games, but they haven't had things all their own way. A 5-1 win against Stuttgart opened their title defence, but they then drew 0-0 with Schalke. They scraped past newly promoted Elversberg but then seemed back to normal after a 7-0 trouncing of Union Berlin when Michael Olise hit a treble.

However, they had to come back twice to salvage a point against Augsburg, but on Saturday they registered another big win, beating Leipzig 6-1 with Diaz bagging a hat-trick. Progress has also been made to the second round of the German Cup after a 4-1 win at second-tier Osnabruck.

The quest to try and clinch a first Champions League title in seven years began with a 5-0 win over Bodo/Glimt, but last week saw them stunned by Viking, firstly falling 2-0 behind, and after coming back to take A 3-2 lead, conceded in the last minute to leave Norway with just a point.

Arteta: "I'm really looking forward to the game, this is the stage, this is the kind of team, this is the kind of coach, this is the kind of club, the stadium that you want to be involved in. So we have prepared the game with lots of enthusiasm, and really thrive to come here and win the game.

"We know the kind of game we’re going to play, I think both teams are very clear on that, and we experienced that at the Emirates, and it’s going to be a very similar one in many moments, especially we have a lot of connections and positiveness in and around the team, so yeah, very excited about it."

Assistant manager, Aaron Danks: “"Vincent has a virus. It's important that he rests. He's at home resting. We take it day by day. We're in constant communication. For me, not much changes. I plan the training sessions every day. Obviously we miss Vincent, but we have a strong coaching team, and we know what needs to be done. We need to stay calm and keep the players' energy high so they are ready.

"The key will be decided on small margins. We have to be prepared for every aspect of the game. We trust the process and the work we have done with the players in the last couple of seasons. We want them to play fearless and express themselves."

Mikel Arteta confirmed that Martin Zubimendi will be involved after recovering from an injury he picked up after our win over Leeds. Piero Hincapie was in open training on the eve of the clash, doing individual work at the Sobha Realty Training Centre. He will miss this match but Mikel is hopeful he can return for our Premier League match with Everton.

William Saliba and Christos Tzolis are sitll making their way back from their respective injuries.

As for our hosts, Bayern will be without Michael Olise through suspension after he was sent off in Bayern's 3-3 draw with Norwegian side Viking in the last matchday. Manager Vincent Kompany has been battling illness, meaning he did not take the pre-match press conference. He is expected to be on the touchline for the clash.

Goalkeeper Manuel Neuer, who has played against us on 11 previous occasions, is a doubt with a foot injury. Attacker Jamal Musiala will miss the clash with a thigh injury. Captain Joshua Kimmich missed open training for personal reasons but could feature tomorrow.

Adrian Clarke gives his insight into our trip to Bavaria.

“Michael Olise’s suspension weakens Bayern Munich, as does Jamal Musiala’s unavailability, but their all-star attack is still a unit that we must work exceptionally hard to contain. Defensive discipline will be key.

“In their 4-2-3-1 shape, deciding how to cope with Harry Kane’s positioning is potentially the most challenging aspect for us. When the England captain drops deep into midfield, will one of our centre backs follow him, or will he be passed on without fuss to a teammate? How we communicate in those moments will be crucial.

“Out wide Luis Diaz’s pace and directness will test us down our right side, and because the Colombian joins in as a second striker so often, Ezri Konsa will often be responsible for handling him. If he starts, whiz kid Lennart Karl, who scored against us last season, is a clever No.10, who we cannot afford to leave too much space for.

“Bayern’s strength is to control matches with pass and move football, rotating positions seamlessly, and having netted 25 goals in their last six matches in all competitions, they have more than enough firepower.

“The weakness is in their off the ball work. The German champions like to play an expansive style, which does mean they leave themselves open at times. Keeping clean sheets in just three of their ten games so far, opponents do tend to get chances to score against Kompany’s attack-minded outfit.

“Minnows Viking proved that in a thrilling 3-3 draw last time out in the UEFA Champions League. They scored from a corner, a counter-attack, and from a far-post header in that shock result.

“Tactically, we must balance between pragmatism and adventure in this clash of the titans. You can’t go toe to toe with Bayern, but equally it would be risky to soak up waves of pressure too. Mikel Arteta will trust his players to defend stoutly. But picking the right times to commit bodies forward, in a bid to hurt Bayern, will be so important to our prospects of winning the game. Get that balance right, and another victory could be on the cards.”

We have won each of our last 14 UEFA Champions League group stage matches, while since we returned to the competition in 2023, only PSG (28) and Real Madrid (28) have won more games overall in the competition than us (27, level with Bayern Munich).

In our last meeting with Bayern in November 2025, the Germans had just eight shots, 14 touches in the opposition box and an expected goals total of 0.65 – all three of which remain Bayern’s lowest in a UEFA Champions League match under Vincent Kompany.

Across Bayern Munich’s last 23 UEFA Champions League matches, the only team to beat them by more than one goal is us, a 3-1 win in November 2025.

73% of our high-intensity pressures in the UEFA Champions League this season have been in the opposition half (373/508), the highest percentage by any team through the first two matchdays.

We also lead all teams for high turnovers (25) and shot-ending high turnovers (9) in the opening two rounds.

Through the opening two matchdays in the UEFA Champions League this season, the two players with the most line-breaking passes in the final third are Martin Odegaard (39) and Bayern Munich’s Joshua Kimmich (33).

Four of Bukayo Saka’s 14 UEFA Champions League goals have come away from home, two of these were at Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain. Only two players have ever scored away at all three of Bayern Munich, Real Madrid and PSG in the competition – Didier Drogba and Erling Haaland.

We are unbeaten across our last eight away matches in the UEFA Champions League (W6 D2), keeping five clean sheets across this run; this is already our longest run without defeat on the road in the competition.

Bayern Munich have lost just one of their last 31 home matches in the UEFA Champions League (W24 D6) and are unbeaten in their last eight since a 1-2 defeat to Internazionale in the 2024-25 quarter-final, winning seven of their eight since then (D1).

Italian referee Davide Massa is the man with the whistle for our trip to the Allianz Arena.

The 45-year-old has taken charge of five of our European matches over the years, the most recent in 2025/26 when we we demolished Atletico Madrid 4-0 in last season's league phase.

He last took charge of a match in Germany in September 2019, when Bukayo Saka scored his first Arsenal goal in a 3-0 win over Eintracht Frankfurt. Compatriots Filippo Meli and Alessio Berti will be his assistants. Fabio Maresca will be the fourth official, and Marco Di Bello will be on VAR duty, assisted by Spaniard Carlos del Cerro Grande.

Referee: Davide Massa, ITAAssistants: Filippo Meli and Alessio Berti, ITAFourth official: Fabio Maresca, ITAVAR: Marco Di Bello, ITAAssistant VAR: Carlos del Cerro Grande, ESP

We have faced Bayern competitively 15 times in our history, all in the Champions League. The first meeting was in December 2000 when we were pegged back from 2-0 ahead to draw 2-2 in the second group stage, before losing 1-0 in March 2000 in Munich.

Bayern have knocked us out of the competition on five occasions, four of which came in the round of 16 stage. The first came in 2004/05 when, despite a 1-0 win at Highbury, we lost 3-2 on aggregate. A 2-0 success at the Allianz Arena wasn’t enough to overturn a 3-1 loss in the first leg in 2013, while we also bowed out to the Germans in 2014 and 2017. In more recent times, we were beaten in the 2023/24 quarter-finals, where a Kimmich goal secured a 1-0 win for Bayern in Bavaria after a 2-2 draw in N5.

Our other meetings came in the group stage in 2015/16, when we won 2-0 at Emirates Stadium thanks to goals from Olivier Giroud and Mesut Ozil, while another victory was secured in last season's league phase when we triumphed 3-1 thanks to goals from Jurrien Timber, Noni Madueke and Gabriel Martinelli.

There will be live commentary of the game on Arsenal.com and The Arsenal app (download now on iOS/Android) from just before kick-off, when Dan Roebuck and Adrian Clarke will be behind the mics guiding you through all the on-field action.

You can also find out which broadcaster is showing the action live, wherever you are in the world