Arsenal vs Bayern Munich: Why are there no away fans at the Emirates Stadium?
Arsenal vs Bayern Munich takes place amid a sea of Gooners at the Emirates Stadium, with no Germans present
Arsenal vs Bayern Munich takes place tonight at the Emirates Stadium – but it'll be a 100 per cent home crowd.
For one night only, Gooners will fill the away end as well as the home end, giving Mikel Arteta the advantage of 60,000 fans packed into the ground, as his side looks for an edge in the first leg of the Champions League quarter-finals. With Bayern Munich all but out of the Bundesliga title race, too, they may never have a better chance at a semi-final.
But hang on – why exactly are there no Bayern fans in north London tonight?
Why are there no away fans at Arsenal vs Bayern Munich tonight?
Bayern are on the naughty step. The Bundesliga side have been punished by UEFA after sections of fans threw missiles onto the pitch during their 3-1 win over Lazio.
Bayern were also fined €40,000 after travelling fans set off fireworks during their 2-1 win at FC Copenhagen in October. Bayern haven't even appealed UEFA's decision, the club said in a recent statement posted on the club's official website.
"We have to accept this punishment. Not only were pyrotechnics set off, but also fired deliberately onto the field, directly endangering bystanders," Bayern CEO Jan-Christian Dreesen said.
"This was such an explicit violation of the conditions of probation that an appeal is unfortunately futile."
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Arsenal have been handed a huge bonus, given they will now be able to ramp up the noise inside the stadium in an attempt to rally a side who have lost 5-1 three times in a row to their Bavarian opponents.
Currently top of the Premier League table, Arteta's side are going strong domestically, too, so will be hoping to turn the tide in front of a wholly home crowd.
"It's another big step, especially as a club," the Basque boss claimed, after Arsenal successfully made it to the last eight with victory over Porto via a penalty shootout last month.
"The last seven years we haven't been in this competition, the last 14 we haven't been where we are today. That's the difficulty of it, the best thing is we are not satisfied, we want more and we are going to try to go through the next round for sure."
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Matthew is a Freelance Journalist and has racked up bylines for Manchester United, Manchester Evening News, GOAL and SPORTbible to name a few. A long-term sufferer of Scunthorpe United, he currently resides in the north-west after escaping the smog of North Lincolnshire.