After Barcelona and AC Milan decide their respective fates, the soccer world will turn to the tilt between Arsenal and Bayern Munich.
The match will feature two depleted sides. Recent announcements indicate that Arsenal midfielder Jack Wilshere will not be on hand for the Gunners. Wilshere recently suffered an injury against the Tottenham Hotspur. Meanwhile Bayern Munich will be without Franck Ribery after the Frenchman suffered a ligament strain in his left ankle during Munich's 3-2 win over Fortuna Dusseldorf on Saturday. Bayern will also be missing midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger and defender Jérôme Boateng; both are banned from the match. Finally, Arjen Robben could miss the game with a calf problem; he did not play for the team during the weekend.
In addition to the news on the injuries, Munich also revealed that it had tried to sign Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger. "We did try to get him at Bayern Munich a few times," club president Uli Hoeness revealed. "Even before he went to Japan (in 1995), Franz Beckenbauer and I went to Nice and discussed with him and everything was clear, but then at the end of the day he decided to go to Japan."
He added, "We were very surprised. From Japan he went to Arsenal and over the years, whenever we were looking for a new coach, Wenger was always one we considered."
Despite the rejection, Hoeness admitted admiration for Wenger. "He's a very serious person, very strong and has a very good idea about the game... He has always remained loyal to Arsenal which is fantastic behavior. But it is true we wanted him at Bayern a few times."
Bayern Munich dominated the first leg 3-1. Arsenal needs to score four away goals in the second leg to have any hopes of advancing.
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