It has been a difficult season for Bayern Munich. With Der Rekordmeister crumbling in the DFB-Pokal to third-division FC Saarbrücken, they have also had to contend with the excellence of Bayer Leverkusen.
Die Werkself now find themselves 13 points clear of Bayern at the top of the Bundesliga table, with their first league title soon to be confirmed. As well as this, due to Bayern’s inability to keep up with Leverkusen domestically, the record champions are on a hunt to replace current head coach Thomas Tuchel, who will depart at the end of the campaign.
With the club’s main target, Xabi Alonso, ruling himself out of the job, Brighton & Hove Albion’s Roberto De Zerbi and former head coach Julian Nagelsmann now appear to be the front runners for the Bayern job. Nevertheless, Bayern have been performing admirably in the Champions League, with Premier League side Arsenal up next in the quarterfinals.
Therefore, silverware is still on the table for Der Rekordmeister; however, this will not be a straightforward task for Tuchel’s side. Arsenal have only tasted victory once in their last six meetings with Bayern, a run that includes their humiliating 10-2 aggregate defeat in the round of 16 in 2017.
However, this Arsenal side is different. Currently sitting at the Premier League’s summit, Mikel Arteta’s side have the credentials to go all the way in this year’s competition. Regardless, in his newsletter, Thomas Müller stated his belief that Bayern will make it to the semi-finals:
“This is no longer the Arsenal that Bayern have always dealt with confidently in the past. It will be a lot of work, but I am convinced that we will beat the Gunners.”
Only time will tell if Bayern do live up to Müller’s statement, but if they fail to progress, then additional questions will undoubtedly be asked of the squad.
GGFN | Will Shopland
