Arsenal will host Bayern Munich in a premier Champions League clash on Wednesday night, but unfortunately one of the box office elements will be missing at the Emirates Stadium.
The Champions League pits the best against the best, and Arsenal vs. Bayern Munich is one of the most anticipated matches of the season so far. But supporters will be deprived of one of the most exciting games on Wednesday night.
Bayern and Arsenal seem to be a perfect match. Like the Gunners, Vincent Kompany’s side have enjoyed a perfect record so far in the Champions League, winning four in a row, and sit at the top of the domestic table with a six-point difference. Like Arsenal, Bayern also boasts the best defensive and attacking records in the country.
Emirates Stadium will therefore undoubtedly host two of the best teams in Europe. This is an attractive prospect that will catch the eyes of many neutrals eager to see Harry Kane vs. William Saliba, Michael Olise vs. Martin Zvimendi, and Bukayo Saka vs. Josip Staninic. However, they will be robbed of perhaps their best match, Luis Diaz vs. Julian Timber.
Dias has been active for Bayern this season, scoring 11 goals and providing five assists in 18 games. It was his two goals in the 2-1 victory over Paris Saint-Germain at the Parc des Princes on November 4 that gave the German giants their most impressive victory of the season.
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However, it was another action in that match that meant he would be absent from the game against Arsenal. Dias was sent off after catching PSG right-back Achraf Hakimi in a poor tackle. On Saturday, it was confirmed that a three-match ban had been handed down for the ill-timed challenge, leaving Bayern furious.
“My information is that he has been suspended for one match,” Kompany said before the news was confirmed. “I would be really disappointed if my information turned out to be incorrect.”
That is exactly what happened and Bayern’s chief executive Jan Christian Dresen allowed an appeal to be lodged. “We have requested UEFA to provide a written justification of the verdict in order to appeal,” he said. “We’ll see if we can somehow reduce the suspension. After the first letter from UEFA we thought it would only be one game. So the three-match suspension surprised us as much as everyone else. We didn’t expect it at all.”
“It was clearly a serious foul, but it was not a violent act, it was not directed at the referee, and there was no further offense after the foul. In the past, something like that alone would have resulted in a three-game suspension. We believe there should not be a three-game suspension, but realistically we have to say that it is rare for such an appeal to be successful.”
Bayern will be without Dias on Wednesday but will still have a huge number of weapons at their disposal, having warmed up with a 6-2 win over Freiburg at the weekend. Arsenal have had the best defensive performance in Europe’s top five leagues this season, having defeated Athletic Club, Olympiakos, Atlético Madrid and Slavia Prague, and are yet to concede a goal in the Champions League.
Timber is currently one of the most in-form full-backs in the world and will not have to deal with the pace of former Liverpool winger Dias, but he will still have to face Olisse and Serge Gnabry on the flanks. However, Arsenal are unlikely to get nervous given their form, which saw them beat Tottenham 4-1 in the north London derby on Sunday.
Mikel Arteta is certainly excited about the challenge ahead. “Certainly this is the kind of match we want to play in this competition and we have been very consistent in both competitions and so have they. Tomorrow is a great test to see where we are,” he said.
“Every opponent brings a different challenge. They’re in a great moment. The level of consistency they show in terms of resources, performance and all metrics is very impressive. We know that, but it’s also a big opportunity for us to show what we’re capable of.”
We may have lost one of our star performers in this match, but there are plenty of other fights to entertain fans.
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