Bayern Munich’s defence of their UEFA Champions League crown will be put to the test in London on Wednesday night when they take on Arsenal in the first leg round of 16 matches.
Arsenal will be looking to end their last 16 Champions League curse of the last three seasons. The Gunners are in the last 16 for the 14th successive year.
They went down 3-1 at home to Bayern last season and bowed out on away goals despite a 2-0 success in Munich.
Arsenal was eliminated by AC Milan in 2011/12 and Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona the previous season, losing both ties 4-3 on aggregate.
Arsenal’s last success at this stage came in 2010 when they recovered from a 2-1 defeat at Porto to win 5-0 in London. That was their third successive victory in the round of 16.
The Gunners are in contention for a treble this season as they in second place in the Barclays Premier League and are also just a point behind London rivals and leaders Chelsea.
They have also enhanced their domestic cup success aspirations with a 2-1 win over Liverpool to book a place in the quarterfinals of the FA Cup against Liverpool’s neighbours Everton.
Bayern on the other hand have a huge 16 point lead in the Bundesliga and a place in the semifinals of the German Cup with minnows Kaiserslautern.
The Bavarian giants have claimed success this season by winning the UEFA Super Cup and the FIFA World Cub Cup.
Last season’s contest at the Emirates Stadium was always heading Bayern’s way once Toni Kroos and Thomas Müller had fired the visitors into a 2-0 lead within 21 minutes.
Lukas Podolski scored against his former side but Mario Mandžukić made the final score 3-1.
