Arsenal's bogeyman back at the Emirates

Arsenal and Bayern Munich kick off on Tuesday with a tie that would have been a clear favourite for the German side a few years ago but has become much more even recently, especially given the Bavarians' surprisingly poor form at the moment. Consistently outclassed in a Bundesliga in which they have even seen second place threatened and already champions in 2022-23 by a miracle after a last-day slip-up by Borussia Dortmund, Bayern Munich have fallen to Thomas Tuchel in a so-far dire 2024.

The 3-0 defeat to Bayer Leverkusen, in which the Munich outfit began to bid farewell to the Bundesliga championship, triggered a crisis that has seen the Bavarians record more defeats in the last 10 games (5) than they have had successes in that time (4). Lazio (1-0) and Bochum (3-2) took advantage of a team that reacted to eliminate the Italians in the round of 16 (3-0) and even had the mirage of a resurrection with the 8-1 win over Mainz 05 or the 2-5 win over Darmstadt 98.

Those clubs paid the price for a team that has not been able to maintain that level of intensity, losing 2-0 to Borussia Dortmund in the 'Klassiker' and 3-2 to newly promoted Heidenheim in the most recent matchdays. The Champions League is the salvation for a team that right now does not seem to be able to cope with a much more complete Arsenal.

Tuesday's game will mark the return to London of Harry Kane. The Walthamstow striker left Tottenham in the summer and moved to a European giant where he is aiming to become this season's 'Golden Boot'. However, as if his jinx has followed him to Germany, 2023-24 is also set to be another season without silverware for the striker, who could avoid it by winning the Champions League.

Kane will face one of his best rivals