Will Arsenal Overcome the Allianza Arena Ghosts?

The ghosts of the Champions League have always haunted Arsenal, especially when they are facing Bayern Munich or Barcelona. It is no brainer that Arsenal has never touched the coveted European trophy, UEFA Champions League. The closest Arsenal have ever come is the final against Barcelona in 2006, where they lost by 2 goals to 2 to Frank Rijkaard’s men. In his whole career, Arsene Wenger, one of the game’s most respected managers coveted but never got hold of it. Just like Moses who was promised that he would see but never enter Canaan, Arsene’s story resonates with it.

1 Win out of 9 Against Barcelona

Arsenal have not only had ghosts of Allianz Arena but also the ghosts of Camp Nou. In 9 meetings with the Catalan giants, the gunners only managed 1 win, 2 draws, and six losses, during which they conceded 22 goals. Messi had a field day back then. Manuel Almunia and Woljiech Sczcesny did not have a cool day with Barcelona either, and so did our defenders including Mustafi, Bellerin, Koscienly, and Vermaelin. Imagining that we faced a prime Barcelona side with Djorou and Silvestre still gives me goosebumps. This further explains why Messi in his time at Barcelona won 5 UEFA Champions League titles whereas our legendary striker, Thiery Henry, has zero. After the 2006 final with the Catalans, Thiery Henry switched sides to Barcelona where he won his first and only UEFA Champions League trophy.

The Ghosts of Bayern Munich

Though the memories against Barcelona are not so nice, they are incomparable to what the Bavarians have put the gunners through when they met in the past. There has never been a ghost experience like the 10-2 aggregate score between Arsenal and Barcelona, but there is one against Bayern Munich. The painful part to most Arsenal fans is that these scores hit them both in home and home matches, such that whenever the team plays against these sides, there is no home advantage. The most recent result against Barcelona in the Champions League at home was in 2016 where Arsenal lost by 2 goals without a response.

Historically, Arsenal vs Barcelona fixture has been as follows:

• 1999/2000: Arsenal faced Barcelona in the group stage, and Barcelona won at Highbury and drew at home.
• 2005/2006; Arsenal vs Barcelona played together in a final that had Arsenal as the favourites on paper, but the Gunners lost by 2 goals to 1. The game saw the Arsenal goalkeeper sent off in the 18th minute for a foul on Samuel Etoo.
• 2009/2010: Arsenal played Barcelona in the quarter-final, but lost away by 4 goals to 1 and drew 2 2 at home.
• 2010/2011: Barcelona defeated Arsenal in the home fixture, but lost away when they met in the round of 16 of the same competition. That is the only time Arsenal beat the Blaugrana in the Champions League.
• In 2015/2016, Arsenal lost the two fixtures, with the total aggregate being 5 goals to 1.

The NightMare

Even though Arsenal has had a poor run against Barcelona, they have never lost by a huge margin as they did against Bayern Munich. The Gunners have won more games against Bayern Munich than Barcelona, but during this period, they have conceded 7 more goals. Out of the thirteen games played, The Bavarians have won 7, drawn 3, and lost 3. In the process, Arsenal have scored 15 goals, four more than against Barcelona. On paper, the Bayern fixture looks easier because of the ease of scoring goals against the Bayern side. The painful loss that still hurts is when the two sides met in 2016/2017 in the round of 16, when the aggregate score was 10 goals to 2, against the Arsenal.

Arsenal vs Bayern

• 2000/2001: Arsenal drew 2 all at Highbury, and went on to lose at the Allianz Arena in a Group C match.
• Fast forward to 2004/2005, a year after Arsenal won the premier league unbeaten, they lost 3 1 to Bayern away and won 1 nil at home.
• 7 years later in 2012/2013, Arsenl faced Bayern in the round of 16, where they lost by 3 goals to 1 at home, and won at the Allianz arena. The one goal needed to pull them through to the quarter-finals never came.
• The following season, they met Bayern again in the round of 16 and lost at home to Bayern, and held them at the Allianz arena to a 1-all draw.
• In 2015/2016, the two teams faced each other again in a UEFA Champions League group match, and the Gunners lost away by five goals but beat Bayern at home.
• The scare came in 2016/2017 when they lost to Bayern in both fixtures by 5 goals to 1 in a round of 16 match. This is one scoreline that Arsenal fans have never moved on from.

Considering the previous fixtures, this fixture has never been friendly to us, but on the positive side, the current Arsenal side has a glimpse of class. Arteta has transformed Arsenal, and he has restored hope. The first leg ended in a draw, but we are hopeful that the return fixture will not bring back bad memories. Visit our new Sports section for more sports content.