Arsenal Should Field A Weakened Team Against Bayern Munich And Focus On FA Cup

Arsenal face a tough test in March starting with Everton, followed by the second leg of the Champions League fixture against Bayern Munich in Allianz Arena later in the midweek.

The Gunners recently registered a 2-1 victory over Liverpool and sealed a place in the last eight of the FA Cup. Tomorrow, the north London side face Everton at the Emirates Stadium, before taking on treble winners Bayern Munich in their backyard on Tuesday evening.

Arsene Wenger has seen his side suffer a 2-0 defeat to Bayern in the first leg at the Emirates. With the Bundesliga champions scoring twice in the away leg, Arsenal have a huge task of scoring three goals in Allianz Arena to progress, while making sure they keep a clean sheet in the process.

The task seems difficult, but it's not impossible. The Gunners' hope of qualifying for the quarter-finals of the Champions League certainly looks bleak, though, thus Arsenal should focus on their quarter-final fixture of the FA Cup against Everton and field a strong team against the Toffees for the weekend fixture.

The FA Cup and the Premier League should be the target for the north London side, and I think both are achievable. Wenger should focus mainly winning the cup, which should then be followed by the title.

Arsenal, or any English club for that matter, are in a position to compete with the European giants like Real Madrid, Barcelona or Borussia Dortmund. No Premier League team has registered a victory in the first leg of the Champions League fixtures, with Chelsea being the only team to settle for a 1-1 draw, while the rest three have suffered a 2-0 defeat in their respective fixtures.

Manchester United, Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool are already out of the FA Cup, so with Manchester City the only big team in the competition, Arsenal's chances are high.

With the current situation, Wenger should field a strong team against Arsenal in the FA Cup clash against Everton and field a weak team in their trip to Germany, in my eyes. The Gunners' primary focus should be on winning the FA Cup, followed by the Premier League next.

Arsenal have come a long way in the FA Cup, having defeated Tottenham and Liverpool so far. Should Wenger field a strong team against Everton and Bayern and a defeat in both could see them lose their hope of winning a silverware this season.

A weak team against Bayern could then see Wenger and Arsenal focus on the league as they have a tough set of fixtures lined up ahead of them. The Gunners face Tottenham, Chelsea, Swansea, City and Everton in the league.

Thus fielding a weaker team and forgetting the Champions League ambitions would be a wiser option for Wenger in order to focus on winning the Premier League and the FA Cup.

The Gunners are third in their league table after their 1-0 defeat to Stoke City in the last fixture. Arsenal are 59 points from 28 games, level on points with second place Liverpool and four behind league leaders Chelsea.

Defeats in their next few league fixtures could not only put an end to their title ambitions, but could see them lose a place on top four this season. Thus focusing on Everton and fielding a weaker team against Bayern will give the players the much needed time to avoid fatigue.

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