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BAY WATCH: Bayern Munich vs Arsenal LIVE: Madueke replaces Eze as Kane and Co look for revenge in Champions League clash – updates

TWO European giants face off in a mouthwatering Champions League tie TONIGHT as Bayern Munich host Arsenal – and the German giants will be out for revenge!

The Gunners pulled off an impressive 3-1 win when these sides met in last season’s campaign, and they go into this off the back of three consecutive victories.

However, Luis Diaz’s hat-trick inspired Bayern to a recent 6-1 triumph – a match where Harry Kane netted his 102nd Bundesliga goal in only 100 games.

  • Kick-off time: 8pm BST
  • Live stream: HBO Max
  • TV channel: TNT Sports 1

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Follow all the action with our LIVE blog below…

Arsenal starting XI (4-3-3): David Raya; Riccardo Calafiori, Gabriel Magalhaes, Ezri Konsa, Jurrien Timber; Bruno Guimaraes, Declan Rice, Martin Odegaard; Noni Madueke, Bukayo Saka, Kai Havertz.

On the bench for Bayern Munich: Jonathan Tah, Nathaniel Brown, Luis Diaz, Hiroki Ito, Sacha Boey, Sven Ulreich, Bara Sapoko Ndiaye, Jonas Urbig, Lennart Karl and Tim Binder.

Bayern Munich line up in a 4-2-3-1 formation: Manuel Neuer; Josip Stanisic, Kim Min-jae, Dayot Upamecano, Konrad Laimer; Tom Bischof, Aleksandar Pavlovic; Alphonso Davies, Ismael Saibari, Serge Gnabry; Harry Kane.

Arsenal are performing well domestically, currently second in the Premier League after taking six wins from their opening seven games.

They arrive following a narrow 1-0 win away at Nottingham Forest, featuring a late winner from Noni Madueke.

In Europe, the Gunners boast two wins from two, following up a 1-0 success at Napoli with a 3-0 victory against Lille.

However, Arsenal have lost 53 per cent of their matches against Bayern (8/15).

Among teams faced five or more times in major European competition, only against Barcelona (67 per cent – 6/9) do they record a higher loss percentage.

Arteta’s team have claimed victory in each of their past 14 Champions League group-stage matches.

Furthermore, since re-entering the competition in 2023, only Paris Saint-Germain (28) and Real Madrid (28) have secured more overall wins in the tournament than the Gunners (27, matching Bayern’s total).

This clash brings together the reigning champions of Germany and England, acting as a repeat of last season’s league phase fixture where Arsenal claimed victory at the Emirates Stadium.

Die Roten top the German standings after thrashing RB Leipzig 6-1 in their most recent Bundesliga outing.

In the Champions League, they have picked up four points from two fixtures, having routed Bodo/Glimt 5-0 before a 3-3 draw at Viking last week.

Bayern have suffered just one defeat in their seven Champions League home fixtures against Arsenal (W5 D1), claiming three consecutive wins, two of which came by margins of four goals or more (5-1 in November 2015 and February 2017).

Meanwhile, across their last 23 Champions League matches, Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal stand out as the sole side to beat them by a margin greater than one goal, following a 3-1 win in November 2025.

Welcome to our live text coverage from Allianz Arena as Bayern Munich and Arsenal lock horns in a brilliant Champions League fixture.

Final prep

Harry Kane and Co are going through their final preparations before this huge clash.

Arsenal will have their work cut out.

Bayern Munich v Arsenal - UEFA Champions League - League Phase - Allianz Arena
Credit: PA

Kompany copies Tuchel?

An interesting thing to note with Bayern’s team tonight is that left flank.

Vincent Kompany is essentially playing two left-backs after choosing not to pick Luis Diaz.

It was a move that Thomas Tuchel did back in 2024, when he was in charge of Bayern.

The plan on that night – when the German side won 1-0 – was to try and keep Bukayo Saka quiet.

It worked well, so no wonder Kompany has chosen to follow suit.

In good Kompany

After lots of speculation that Vincent Kompany wouldn’t be at the game today, the boss has arrived!

FC Bayern München v Arsenal FC - UEFA Champions League 2026/27 League Phase MD3
Credit: Getty

The Nwan to watch

The young Gunners were involved in a thrilling clash against Bayern’s Under-19s today and Ethan Nwaneri’s brother got on the score sheet.

SunSport’s Simon Collings has a clip of the magical goal.

Bayern starting XI

Harry Kane leads the line as usual but last weekend’s hat-trick hero Luis Diaz drops to the bench.

Arsenal starting XI

Noni Madueke steps in for Eberechi Eze and Jurrien Timber replaces Ben White from the Forest win.

Raya; Timber, Konsa, Gabriel, Calafiori; Guimaraes, Rice; Saka, Odegaard, Madueke; Havertz

All for one

The Allianz Arena is looking spectacular ahead of tonight’s huge game.

Perfect for a fantastic game of football!

UEFA Champions League - Bayern Munich v Arsenal
Credit: Reuters
Bayern Munich v Arsenal, UEFA Champions League, Allianz Arena, Germany - 21 Oct 2026
Credit: Shutterstock Editorial

Arsenal injury updates

Arsenal winger Noni Madueke is pushing for a start after netting the winning goal against Nottingham Forest this weekend, with Christos Tzolis still sidelined with a hamstring problem.

William Saliba remains unavailable despite returning to individual training on the grass recently, while Piero Hincapie has returned to training, but this game could come too soon for the Ecuador international.

Goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga is also a doubt with a knock.

Tragic loss

Joshua Kimmich is out of Bayern Munich’s Champions League clash against Arsenal after the death of his father.

The Germany international has withdrawn from the squad following his dad Berthold’s death at the age of just 57.

SunSport’s Henry Tomlinson has the full sad story.

Bayern team news

Winger Michael Olise is suspended after being sent off in their previous European match against Viking.

Jamal Musiala is sidelined with a thigh injury, while veteran goalkeeper Manuel Neuer has been managing a foot problem.

Bayern head coach Vincent Kompany has also been suffering from a viral infection, leaving assistant coach Aaron Danks to handle much of the pre-match media duties.

And Joshua Kimmich will not feature after a tragic death in his family.

Bay watch

Two European giants face off in a mouthwatering Champions League tie TONIGHT as Bayern Munich host Arsenal – and the German giants will be out for revenge!

The Gunners pulled off an impressive 3-1 win when these sides met in last season’s campaign, and they go into this off the back of three consecutive victories.

However, Luis Diaz’s hat-trick inspired Bayern to a recent 6-1 triumph – a match where Harry Kane netted his 102nd Bundesliga goal in only 100 games.

Both teams have a selection headache ahead of this huge match and we can keep you up to date on who will be missing.

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