Arsenal vs Bayern: Why Gunners Will Have To Stifle Lahm In Order To Get A Result

Last season Bayern steamrolled everything that stood in front of them. Under Jupp Heynckes the Bavarians were rampant in every competition they entered and ended the season with five major trophies under their belt, including the Bundesliga, the German Cup and the Champions League. With a change of manager however comes a different strategy and structure, and Pep Guardiola has made some tweaks at the Allianz-Arena.

The main one is the position of Philip Lahm, who has been converted from the first choice right-back to a central defensive midfielder. He is now the shield in front of the back four and he is thriving in his new habitat.

The 30-year-old uses his experience to pick apart opposition attacks and is neat in his passing - he has a pass completion rate of almost 92% from his 19 league appearances.

He sits patiently in the deep role and runs the game with his awareness, his technique and intelligence in his positioning.

For me he will have to be smothered in order for Arsenal to get anything from the game and it'll be up to the likes of Jack Wilshere to do just that. Can they take Lahm out of the game? I'm not so sure, but I firmly believe that they will need to if they want a result.