Arsenal Look Strong This Term, but Bayern Munich Match Up Well with the Gunners

"I've never been to Monaco, that would interest me, nor have I been to Leicester," said Philipp Lahm, per Kicker, when asked who he would prefer Bayern Munich be drawn against in the last 16 of the Champions League, sounding like he was reading from a most unlikely bucket list of destinations.

Instead, it will be north London and Arsenal for Herr Lahm, who will surely sate his wanderlust and head to Monaco when retirement comes. Maybe not Leicester, though.

Pre-draw, Franck Ribery had trotted out the old favourite from page 1 of the Footballer's Handbook of Handy Cliches. "It doesn't matter who we get. There are no easy games in the last 16," he said, per Kicker.

It turns out he was absolutely spot on. Neither home nor away will this be an easy game for Bayern. "Stark!" Strong, was how Bayern's official website began their initial report into the draw, succinctly but disconcertingly accurately.

Barcelona and Juventus, other potential last-16 opponents, would have been equally testing, but the challenge posed by Arsenal will be like no other Bayern have faced so far this season. Even Borussia Dortmund in Der Klassiker did not take the game to Bayern as much as Arsenal will, and it will be a stout test of the defensive skills of Carlo Ancelotti's men to keep the Gunners at bay.

Arsene Wenger's teams have always been attractive in style, but rarely have they lived up to their nickname more fittingly than currently. Alexis Sanchez has been involved in virtually a goal-a-game this season, netting a prodigious 11 in 14 Premier League outings as he flourishes in a central role. Mesut Ozil may not be in quite the sizzling form of his Chile international team-mate, but he is still a major reason why Arsenal have ticked along so nicely this season.

The ability of the pair to flit into gaps around the box will make them difficult to pick up and will require Bayern's midfielders to be extra vigilant when their team does not have the ball. Given that requirement, you wonder whether the flawless, ever-alert Lahm will be pressed into action in front of—rather than in—the back four.

Yet, despite his own team's glorious form, there is no doubt Wenger did not accompany news of the draw with a glass of Bordeaux and a joyous "magnifique!" His reaction was more likely to have been another well-known French word also beginning with "m"—aside from Real Madrid, Bayern were undoubtedly the other team the Arsenal boss would have wanted to avoid at all costs.

"It will be two very interesting games, which I'm looking forward to. I have confidence in my team and I hope to reach the quarter-finals," Ancelotti stated, per Bayern's official website. "To do that, we must get ourselves into a good position after the first leg at the Allianz Arena to go to London."

The way Bayern play and can play does make that first leg crucial, as it will set the tone clearly for the second. Their impressive home form means they always start favourites on their own turf.

Both teams will want to have the ball, so it is difficult to imagine Arsenal being able to maintain a defensive tactical outlook throughout. Though they will respect Bayern, they will also seek to score the away goal that will give them extra hope ahead of the home leg.

Either approach will suit Bayern, though: Should Arsenal sit back, Ancelotti's switch from 4-3-3 to 4-2-3-1 seems to have resolved a worrying vulnerability to the counter-attack, and you would back Robert Lewandowski et al to eventually pick their way through to a goal or two.

If their opponents go forward, you would back Bayern's defence and the immovable Manuel Neuer to keep them at bay, while it would play to the hosts' ability to counter-attack devastatingly.

Even should Arsenal claim a goal, a 1-1 draw in the home leg would not be a bad result for Bayern—if they can't win, a goalless draw would be even better—with Arsenal, at home, expected to take the game to their opponents in the second leg.

That will give Ancelotti's side space to exploit when they win the ball back. If it comes down to a shootout of who can score the most goals, you would back Bayern's attack to do more damage to Arsenal's back four than Wenger's men can do to Mats Hummels, Jerome Boateng, Neuer & Co. Man for man, Bayern are at least Arsenal's equal up front and are even stronger at the back and in goal.

They also have the psychological edge. Much is made of previous meetings, the conclusions drawn from which do not have much foundation when they include games decades ago when the teams and the sport was very different. However, Arsenal will no doubt remember their recent entanglements with Bayern with less fondness than Ancelotti's men.

As Neuer told his club's official website: "We know Arsenal very well from previous years, we have often played against them, two times already in the last 16. We had good experiences and went through."

Last season's group stage may have seen the English club win 2-0 at home, but they were torn apart 5-1 in the return in Munich. In addition, as Neuer said, in both the 2012/13 and 2013/14 seasons, Bayern knocked Arsenal out in the last 16. Those triumphs are all recent enough for many of the players on both sides to have been involved.

With Wenger's side under pressure after failing to go beyond this stage of the competition on their last six attempts, the mental weight will be squarely on the minds of Bayern's opposition.