Arsenal’s defensive improvement key for Bayern Munich trip

Confidence is soaring at Arsenal, but not to the extent that they think they can go to Bayern Munich and attack at will. On Wednesday, Arsène Wenger’s side will attempt to continue their Champions League recovery by beating the German champions again, but the manager admits he would settle for a draw.
“I would sign today to take a point,” said Wenger before adding that did not mean adopting an ultra-defensive approach. “To sit off Bayern, with their offensive quality, would be difficult to maintain for 90 minutes. We have to relieve the pressure whenever we can and try to score goals. That is our structure of the team, to attack. If you get our players to defend, then I do not think we will be so efficient. We have to play every time we can.”
Bayern are stuttering by their own extraordinary standards. After losing 2-0 at the Emirates a fortnight ago despite dominating possession, they won twice domestically before managing only a 0-0 draw with Eintracht Frankfurt on Friday, ending a sequence of 11 straight wins in the Bundesliga.
“They will be angry,” said Per Mertesacker of his compatriots. “We are the first team that really challenged them and beat them in the end. So they will try to show they are better than us. We showed that we can beat them. That’s a good sign but it will be a different game at their place. Both teams have got a good chance to go through to the knockout stages. We improved our position in the last game against Munich but we need to get something out of this game. That puts pressure on us to perform and we need to defend even better.”
Better defending has been a hallmark of Arsenal this year. They had to demonstrate their improvement again on Saturday, when they fended off a strong Swansea side before winning thanks to second-half goals by Olivier Giroud, Laurent Koscielny and Joel Campbell. “It was impressive,” said Wenger after a triumph that enhanced his team’s credibility as Premier League title challengers. “If you look at our away results since the start of the season, we have won at Crystal Palace and at Watford, who you can see from the latest result are a difficult team to beat, and also at Newcastle and again at Swansea – so overall it looks like the team has stabilised and is growing as a unit. So let’s grow even more.”

Koscielny, Petr Cech and Héctor Bellerín were outstanding at the back for Arsenal, while Mesut Özil excelled in the second half after a quiet first period. But Campbell’s display was the most revelatory, as the 23-year-old shone on his first league start for Arsenal four years after joining the club.
Wenger praised the ability and attitude of a player who had previously asked to be sold as he sought first-team action but never sulked. “I didn’t let him go because I felt he is a guy who has the quality and he is still young and is a team-worker. He wanted to go because he wasn’t playing, which you can understand. But I didn’t let him go because in our job you always have to be ready. And when you get the chance, take it – that’s what he has done.”
Man of the match Joel Campbell (Arsenal)