Arsenal v Bayern Munich: German machine to stifle Gunners
Published:Arsenal will need to be sure they’ve put their teeth in ahead of Bayern Munich’s visit to the Emirates, having left them floating in a glass of water on the bedside table before their Blackburn defeat.
The Gunners could not break down the frankly average Championship unit on their own patch which makes it incredibly difficult to envisage them being able to pick the lock on a Bayern defence that hasn’t conceded a single goal in over 540 minutes of football.
This commitment to frugality is intensified further on the road, where no set of home fans have seen their team blemish the Munich outfit’s sheet since the end of November last year – a whole six games ago.
These stats conspire to make the 1/1 on offer for the Bayern machine to roll on with almost stereotypical efficiency better looking than a bacon butty on the morning after a heavy night on the sauce. On the other hand, it’s fair to say that those willing to dance with Arsenal’s 12/5 after their FA Cup fatality are braver than most.
Given that a goal against Bayern is as a rare as seeing Arsenal win a trophy, backing FC Hollywood to keep an away-day clean sheet at 2/1 must be the way to go here, while an almost tie-ending away win to nil is on offer at 11/4 and, again, looks a devilishly handsome bet.
Another habit that Bayern have forged when on the road of late is that they win 2-0. Of their previous six ventures away from the Allianz Arena, five have been won by this scoreline; a sixth instalment is worth a few quid at 10/1.
A little pick me up for the Arsenal fans fearing the worst is that they are yet to lose a Champions League last-16 date on their own patch.
If they’re to have any chance of maintaining an interest in the one remaining competition they can, on paper, still win this has to continue. A price of 7/10 says the Gunners will avoid defeat and, should they achieve this, their chances of progression – currently a 12/5 shot – will look a shade healthier heading to Bavaria.
Meanwhile, if Lukas Podolski scores the first or last goal, punters will get their money back on all losing first scorer bets as a free bet.
All odds and markets accurate as of publication’s time and date
