The Champions League league phase draw saw us paired once again with Bayern Munich – an opponent with plenty of history, and not just in matches against ourselves.
The six-time European champions are one of the biggest names in world football, but if you need a refresher or just want to know more about what lies in wait, here is our complete guide to our next opponents:
The history
With 34 league titles alongside their European Cup and Champions League successes, Bayern are Germany’s most successful club. They were founded in 1900 but it would take until 1932 for their first national title to arrive. That solitary success and financial problems meant they were initially overlooked for a place in the newly-created Bundesliga in 1963, but two years later they won promotion and never looked back.
Four German Cups were claimed in the next five years, as well as the European Cup Winners’ Cup in 1967 and a first Bundesliga in 1969. They lifted their maiden European Cup in 1974, which they would retain for three years under the captaincy of the legendary Franz Beckenbauer and powered by the goals of Gerd Muller.
After fleeting periods of dominance in the 1980s and 1990s, the new millennium began by claiming their first Champions League title as part of a treble in 2001, a feat they would repeat in 2013. Despite a string of managerial changes, they have gone on to win 12 of the past 13 Bundesligas, with their most recent European title coming in 2020.
The stadium
Bayern have been playing at the Allianz Arena since 2005 when they moved out of their famous Olympiastadion home. The 75,000-capacity venue is famous for its colour-changing exterior and is the second-largest stadium in Germany, behind Borussia Dortmund’s Westfalenstadion.
It was previously shared with city rivals 1860 Munich but now Bayern are the sole occupant. Built for the 2006 World Cup, where it held six matches, it has also hosted the 2012 Champions League final, where Chelsea beat Bayern in the final, as well as last season’s edition, where Paris Saint-Germain thumped Inter Milan 5-0.
The eye-catching stadium was also a venue for Euro 2020 and Euro 2024, held the final of the 2025 Nations League, and hosted its first NFL regular-season match in 2022.
How to watch Arsenal v Bayern Munich on TV
The manager
A well-known face to Mikel Arteta, Vincent Kompany is in his second season in charge of the German giants. The Belgian defender enjoyed great success in the Premier League at Manchester City where he captained them to four titles including two during Mikel’s time as assistant manager to Pep Guardiola. Kompany also lifted two FA Cups and four League Cups before becoming player-manager at Anderlecht in 2019.
After returning to focus on his playing career after a few games combining both roles, in 2020, Kompany hung up his boots and stuck to the dugout, and after two trophy-less years, he returned to England to manage Burnley, whom he guided to the Championship title with 101 points but suffered relegation the following campaign. However, he did enough to impress Bayern, who appointed him as manager ahead of the 2024/25 campaign, replacing Thomas Tuchel.
LAST SEASON
Having seen Bayer Leverkusen end their 11-year monopoly of the Bundesliga, Bayern roared back in Kompany’s first campaign. They lost just twice in the league all season to finish 13 points clear of the holders. 26 of Harry Kane’s 41 goals came in the top-flight to win the Golden Boot and the first major trophy of his career, while Thomas Muller departed having added a 34th winner’s medal to his collection.
Leverkusen did knock them out of the German Cup at the last 16 stage, while in the Champions League, five wins saw them finish 12th in the table, before they knocked out Celtic and Leverkusen to reach the quarter-finals, where they came unstuck against Inter. They also competed at the Club World Cup, but were eliminated in the last eight by PSG.
The squad
Bayern boast one of the most star-studded teams in world football. Skippered by veteran goalkeeper Manuel Neuer, England captain Kane is the team’s talisman, having hit over 40 goals in each of his two full seasons in Germany, and is already halfway to achieving that again this term.
Joshua Kimmich and Leon Goretzka are mainstays of the German national team, as is Jonathan Tah who plays at centre-back alongside France’s Dayot Upamecano. That experience is offset by some of the best young players in the game, including wingers Jamal Musiala and Michael Olise and left-back Alphonso Davies, while 17-year-old Lennart Karl recently became their youngest scorer in the Champions League.
A host of former Premier League players also ply their trade at the Allianz Arena, including ex-Gunner Serge Gnabry, £65 million summer signing Luis Diaz and Nicholas Jackson, who is on loan from Chelsea.
The season so far
Nine straight league wins saw Bayern come storming out of the Bundesliga traps to leave their rivals in their dust, but they needed a stoppage-time Kane penalty to keep their unbeaten start intact when they drew 2-2 at Union Berlin. Saturday saw them host Freiburg and a thumping 6-2 win left them six points clear at the top.
Victories over Wehen Wiesbaden and Koln have seen them progress to the last 16 of the German Cup, while like us, they boast a 100% record in the Champions League, keeping us off top spot on goals scored. They began with a 3-1 home win over Chelsea before thrashing Cypriot side Pafos 5-1 and Club Brugge 4-0. They then travelled to Paris to take on the holders PSG, when a brace from Diaz, before he was red carded, paved the way for a 2-1 statement success.
The previous meetings
Bayern have knocked us out of the competition on five occasions, four of which came in the round of 16 stage. The first came in 2004/05 when, despite a 1-0 win at Highbury, we lost 3-2 on aggregate. A 2-0 success at the Allianz Arena wasn’t enough to overturn a 3-1 loss in the first leg in 2013, while we also bowed out to the Germans in 2014 and 2017. Our last meetings came in the 2023/24 quarter-finals, where a Kimmich goal secured a 1-0 win for Bayern in Bavaria after the sides had drawn 2-2 in N5.
Our other meetings came in the group stage in 2015/16, when we won 2-0 at Emirates Stadium thanks to goals from Olivier Giroud and Mesut Ozil, the third and last time we beat Bayern.
