Champions League Arsenal vs Bayern Munich: Arsene Wenger has the ‘perfect preparation’

Wenger’s side are buoyant themselves after a 3-0 victory at Watford on Saturday to follow the demolition of Manchester United by the same score

Arsene Wenger takes a training session (GETTY IMAGES)

If Arsenal can be accused of underestimating their last two Champions League visitors, the same mistake will not be made when last season’s semi-finalists Bayern Munich step out at the Emirates on Tuesday night.

At last week’s AGM supporters understandably expressed dismay at the defeats by unfancied Monaco last season and Olympiakos last month. A 3-1 loss in February to Arsène Wenger’s compatriots and former club could not quite be retrieved in a classic heroic failure three weeks later, which brought elimination at the first knockout stage for a fifth successive year; and losing 3-2 to the Greeks left Arsenal without a point from this season’s opening two group matches. That necessitates winning the third one, which is unfortunate, as Bayern have just established a new Bundesliga record by taking maximum points from their first nine league games, scoring 29 goals against four.

At least Wenger’s side are buoyant themselves after a 3-0 victory at Watford on Saturday to follow the demolition of Manchester United by the same score. The manager’s carefully calculated gamble in picking just about his strongest team paid off as they resisted the home side’s pressure on either side of half-time to break out and score three typically well worked goals in 12 minutes.

“For us it is a perfect run in the Premier League, and on the other hand also perfect preparation for the Bayern game because we had no injuries and we got the three points,” Wenger was able to claim. “We are now in a position where we can focus and give everything on Tuesday night. The confidence level is there. We know exactly what is needed: a 0-0 is not even a good result. To score goals, we have to attack.”

Saturday’s game at Vicarage Road, ultimately comfortable as the result was, did not provide a perfect template, as the three goals all stemmed essentially from counter-attacks. On the other hand the way United were blitzed from the start in the last home game showed the way.

“It is ideal, but that is difficult to plan,” Wenger pointed out. “We did not plan to be 3-0 up after 20 minutes. What we want to do is play up to our level, because we play against a big team.”

Perhaps that will prove a paradoxical advantage, as the manager admitted his players may have taken Monaco and Olympiakos too lightly: “We feel that the pain inflicted was a bit by ourselves, maybe subconsciously we thought ‘anyway we will win these’. Now to correct we need a great performance. We have put ourselves in a bad position in the Champions League and want to make something special because that’s the only way we can stay in the race.”

Watford’s race is to stay in the Premier League and they will not do it without improving on a dire record of one goal in five home games.