Arsenal vs Bayern Munich
The first high-profile match of the International Champions Cup will kick off Wednesday as Arsenal take on Bayern Munich.
The Gunners, who are coming off a fifth-place finish in the Premier League, have no splashy new signings to showcase in this year’s star-studded pre-season tournament. Instead, they will feature a handful of familiar faces as well as a few promising youngsters who figure to get a runout.
As for Bayern, they have also been relatively unchanged after winning their seventh successive Bundesliga title. But the core of their squad remains formidable and, as evidenced by their International Champions Cup 2019 odds for this match, still significantly better than Arsenal’s.
Talking Points
Gunners familiar with German champions
It’s been a relatively quiet summer transfer market thus far for Arsenal. Their lone signing to date has been 18-year-old Brazilian winger Gabriel Martinelli, who scored in their 3-0 friendly win over Colorado Rapids.
Although, they have been linked with a big-money move for an exciting young winger — Wilfried Zaha, Nicolas Pepe, and Everton Soares — as well as Scottish left-back Kieran Tierney.
But for now, their ICC squad will primarily feature most of the key players from last season. The only notable exclusions are midfielders Alex Iwobi and Mohamed Elneny, who are absent due to Africa Cup of Nations duty, and captain Laurent Koscielny, who made major International Champions Cup 2019 news as he refused to travel on tour due to a contract row.
As it so happens, most of Arsenal’s squad that will take on Bayern are quite familiar with facing them. Goalie Bernd Leno, defenders Shkodran Mustafi, Sokratis Papastathopoulos, and Sead Kolasinac, midfielders Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Granit Xhaka, and Mesut Ozil, and star striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang have all played in the Bundesliga at some point in their careers.
Even two of their promising youngsters — Reiss Nelson (Hoffenheim) and Emile Smith Rowe (RB Leipzig) — spent last season on loan in Germany. Nelson, in particular, was quite a hit as he scored seven times in 18 Bundesliga appearances.
With Arsenal’s notable lack of reinforcements, Nelson might end up having to play a significant role for the Gunners next season. The International Champions Cup will be his chance to impress manager Unai Emery and earn more playing time.
Same old Bayern
Similar to Arsenal, Bayern have remained relatively intact from last season. The main additions to Niko Kovac’s squad to date have been young French defenders Benjamin Pavard and Lucas Hernandez, although Hernandez won’t be taking part as he continues to rehab from knee surgery.
Bayern have been linked with a move for Manchester City winger Leroy Sane as they look to make up for the departures of veteran wingers Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery, but a deal doesn’t look imminent.
For now, their attack will continue to be led by star striker Robert Lewandowski, who had another brilliant season with 22 league goals. Meanwhile, wingers Kingsley Coman and former Arsenal man Serge Gnabry, who both performed admirably in their championship-winning campaign last season, will offer support.
Gnabry had 10 goals (second on the team behind Robert Lewandowski) and five assists in 21 Bundesliga appearances. Meanwhile, Coman had six goals and four assists in 17 appearances.
The ICC will also give 18-year-old winger Alphonso Davies the chance to shine. Davies initially decided against joining the tour after competing in the recently concluded Gold Cup with Canada, but he has had a change of heart.
Davies made six appearances last season and scored his lone goal in a 6-0 rout of Mainz. And if Bayern doesn’t decide to add another winger, he could find himself playing even more next season.
History
Bayern and Arsenal have met on 13 occasions all-time. Bayern have the advantage with seven victories while Arsenal have four. The Germans have also won four of their last six matchups in the Champions League (one draw, one loss), including the last three by a 5-1 scoreline.
The two clubs met most recently in the 2017 edition of the International Champions Cup. The match ended in a draw after 90 minutes in Shanghai, China, but Arsenal came out on top 3-2 on penalties.
Betting Tip
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Arsenal vs Bayern Munich | Bayern Munich 1X2 @ 1.82 |
| July 18, 11:00 (GMT+8) |
SBOBET odds have Bayern priced as 1.82 favourites in the 1X2 market over Arsenal, and rightly so. Even with the departures of Robben and Ribery, the German champions still possess an impressive squad teeming with quality.
The Gunners appear to be more inclined to play a number of their younger players in pre-season. And if they do, the Bayern veterans should be able to capitalise and control the game more effectively.
A SHORT EXPLANATION ON HOW OUR ( ) BETS ARE WORTH: |
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|---|---|---|---|
 = €20 (Highly confident) |
= €10 (CONFIDENT) |
= €5 (SOMEWHAT CONFIDENT) |
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Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
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