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Journalism of Courage
Arsenal8217;s leaky defence must somehow repel Bayern Munich on Wednesday if they are to avoid yet another Champions League disappointment.
The London side have been shorn of injured centre-back Sol Campbell since February 1 and they have looked suspect at the back, conceding three goals in the first leg of the first knockout round in Munich.
A late goal by Kolo Toure gave Arsenal a glimmer of hope 8212; a 3-1 deficit means they can win 2-0 at Highbury and progress 8212; but there are few in English soccer outside their dressing room who believe the home side can survive 90 minutes against a well-organised Bayern team without conceding a goal, even if the Germans are without injured striker Roy Makaay.
Arsenal, who have never gone beyond the quarter-finals of Europe8217;s top club competition, strolled past Portsmouth 3-0 on Saturday thanks to a hat-trick from Thierry Henry who was only fitfully involved in the first leg against Bayern. But their defence continued to look shaky early on with Campbell8217;s replacement Pascal Cygan injured.
The loss of Makaay, who has scored seven goals in the Champions League this season, with a hamstring strain is certainly a blow for Bayern. The good news is the return of playmaker Michael Ballack, who missed the first leg with a thigh injury.
Bayern have not conceded a goal since the first leg against Arsenal and a key contributor to that defensive stability has been Martin Demichelis.
8216;8216;With Oliver Kahn, Lucio, Robert Kovac and Demichelis, we look so solid in the centre it8217;s become very difficult scoring against us,8217;8217; Magath said.
