Stars happily IGNORING Thomas Tuchel, chaos behind the scenes and dreadful domestic form... why Arsenal have little to fear from Bayern Munich despite past humiliations and Harry Kane's goals
- Bayern dumped Arsenal out of Europe four times between 2013 and 2017
- Now the tables have turned with Mikel Arteta's side considered the favourites
- Arsenal must feel unbeatable… they'll heap more misery on Harry Kane and Bayern Munich - Listen to the It's All Kicking Off podcast
There was a time not so long ago when the prospect of facing Bayern Munich would have left Arsenal paralysed with fear.
On four occasions between 2013 and 2017, the Germans made cannon fodder of the Gunners at the Champions League last-16 stage with the results becoming gradually more awkward.
The last three meetings between the two sides have ended in 5-1 Bayern wins, the gulf in class between the genuine European heavyweight and the Premier League's perennial also-rans plain to see.
No more. As Arsenal and Bayern resume their rivalry on Tuesday night, this time in the quarter-finals, the tables have been turned.
No longer will Arsenal be afraid of big bad Bayern, no longer will the tie be a foregone conclusion. Given the season of strife and crisis the Bavarian are going through, Arsenal are rightly favourites.
![Arsenal were humiliated by Bayern Munich the last time the sides met back in 2017](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/04/09/10/83404683-13287531-image-a-1_1712655400260.jpg)
Arsenal were humiliated by Bayern Munich the last time the sides met back in 2017
![The Germans thrashed Arsene Wenger's sorry side 5-1 in both legs of their last-16 encounter](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/04/09/10/83404693-13287531-image-a-2_1712655416961.jpg)
The Germans thrashed Arsene Wenger's sorry side 5-1 in both legs of their last-16 encounter
![Now the tables have turned, however, with Bayern the ones in turmoil and Arsenal fancied](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/04/09/10/83404295-13287531-image-a-3_1712655438006.jpg)
Now the tables have turned, however, with Bayern the ones in turmoil and Arsenal fancied
While Tuesday's visitors to the Emirates Stadium have Harry Kane - with 38 goals in 37 games during an exceptional debut season - and the muscle memory of greatness, they are a shadow of previous incarnations.
![](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/04/09/10/83404737-13287531-image-m-12_1712655497379.jpg)
The 2023-24 season has been most unlike Bayern, with turmoil in the boardroom, in the dug-out and on the pitch as they stare down the barrel of a first trophyless season since 2012.
After Bayern chucked away a two-goal lead to lose 3-2 at Heidenheim on Saturday, they sit 16 points adrift of Xabi Alonso's still-unbeaten Bundesliga leaders Bayer Leverkusen.
Their coronation, the first team other than Bayern to win the title in 12 years, is simply a matter of time. Bayern may not even finish second, with Stuttgart breathing down their necks.
They suffered a humiliating DFB-Pokal exit to third-tier Saarbrucken in November, leaving the Champions League as their only hope of salvation. Not that anybody considers them among the favourites.
Ex-Tottenham man Kane - who has 14 goals in 19 previous games against Arsenal - has been exempted from criticism because of his record-setting goal return.
Few others in the Bayern side are immune amid allegations they stopped playing for manager Thomas Tuchel - set to leave in the summer - quite a long time ago.
There have been tensions between Tuchel and his squad essentially from the outset after he replaced Julian Nagelsmann just over 12 months ago.
![Harry Kane has scored 38 goals during his debut Bayern season - but could win nothing](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/04/09/10/83404297-13287531-image-a-13_1712655506893.jpg)
Harry Kane has scored 38 goals during his debut Bayern season - but could win nothing
![Thomas Tuchel is on his way this summer but that could be sooner if they lose to Arsenal](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/04/09/10/83404299-13287531-image-a-15_1712655627789.jpg)
Thomas Tuchel is on his way this summer but that could be sooner if they lose to Arsenal
![The Gunners look in excellent form as they push for success in the Premier League and Europe](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/04/09/10/83404967-13287531-image-a-16_1712655661687.jpg)
The Gunners look in excellent form as they push for success in the Premier League and Europe
![](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/04/09/10/83404745-13287531-image-m-19_1712655689444.jpg)
When Bayern fired their chief executive Oliver Kahn and sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic at the end of last season - those who'd appointed Tuchel - a safety blanket was ripped away.
The former Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain coach struggled to find the chemistry with Bayern players who openly and repeatedly 'questioned his credentials'.
Fans didn't like Tuchel's pragmatic style of football, which placed shackles on wing-backs Raphael Guerreiro and Noussair Mazraoui, and the decision to split up midfield pair Joshua Kimmich and Leon Goretzka proved unpopular.
Tuchel also changed things in central defence, with the pairing of Dayot Upamecano and Kim Min-jae, who cost Bayern a combined £79million making way for Matthijs de Ligt and January loanee Eric Dier.
The announcement Tuchel was to step down at the end of the season came a few days after Bayern lost 1-0 to Lazio in the first leg of the Champions League last-16.
In that match, a stark illustration of how Bayern's players have been willfully ignoring Tuchel's instructions went viral on social media.
The video shows Tuchel frantically waving his players forward as they pick up possession in midfield, only for everyone to stop running and pass backwards.
![It appears Bayern's players are willfully ignoring Tuchel's tactical instructions in some games](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/04/09/10/83404995-13287531-image-a-21_1712655730025.jpg)
It appears Bayern's players are willfully ignoring Tuchel's tactical instructions in some games
![There's a very real chance Bayern won't win any silverware for the first time since 2012](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/04/09/10/83404991-13287531-image-a-20_1712655720948.jpg)
There's a very real chance Bayern won't win any silverware for the first time since 2012
It might be considered odd Tuchel is treated this way having won the Champions League with Chelsea and taken PSG to the final.
But the perception he wants to play football with the handbrake on doesn't sit well at Bayern.
There have also been unsettling changes behind the scenes. In recent weeks, Max Eberl has been put in charge of transfer dealings, essentially sitting above the sporting director Christoph Freund, who was appointed last September.
It remains to be seen how that actually works and who will spearhead the new manager search.
'I don't give a s*** about the search for a coach,' said a frustrated Eberl on ZDF after the collapse at Heidenheim, before betraying his own fears about facing Arsenal.
'That's already complicated enough when we have to go to London on Tuesday and face a team that, with all due respect to Heidenheim, is a class above them in the terms of the way they play football.
![Max Eberl (right) watches the shocking collapse at Heidenheim on Saturday afternoon](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/04/09/10/83404301-13287531-image-a-22_1712655765322.jpg)
Max Eberl (right) watches the shocking collapse at Heidenheim on Saturday afternoon
'We really have to make a proper turnaround so that we don't get a slap to the face.'
There have been some suggestions Tuchel won't be in charge for the return leg next week if Bayern lose at the Emirates, with a caretaker brought in.
It was at the same stage last season that Sadio Mane punched team-mate Leroy Sane in the face after Bayern were crushed 3-0 by Manchester City.
Mane's time at the Allianz Arena was forgettable and he was moved on to Saudi Arabia, but if anything Bayern are in deeper turmoil right now.
Mikel Arteta's Arsenal is a very different beast to those late Arsene Wenger era sides tormented by Bayern.
![Despite Kane's goals, Bayern's aura has definitely slipped and it's a great time to play them](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/04/09/10/83405049-13287531-image-a-23_1712655822887.jpg)
Despite Kane's goals, Bayern's aura has definitely slipped and it's a great time to play them
With their resolute defence more than capable of dealing with Kane and a fluency about their attack which is sustaining a title challenge this season, they enter the tie as rightful favourites.
Bayern's crown has slipped and their aura has been punctured. Arsenal should have no fear.
![](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/04/09/10/83404735-13287531-image-m-24_1712655848642.jpg)
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