Bayern vs Arsenal: Olise Banned, Saliba Out for UCL Clash

Bayern Munich and Arsenal meet at the Allianz Arena on Wednesday in the standout tie of Champions League matchday three — and both sides go into it without a star name, with Michael Olise suspended for the hosts and William Saliba still out for the visitors.

Arsenal arrive in Munich with a perfect European record, having beaten Napoli 1-0 and Lille 3-0, and fresh from a gritty 1-0 Premier League win at Nottingham Forest on Sunday. Bayern, held 3-3 by Viking FK last week, responded by hammering RB Leipzig 6-1 on Saturday — a warning, and a complication, in the same afternoon.

Olise pays for a mad minute in Norway

Olise will miss the game through suspension after picking up two yellow cards in the space of a minute against Viking — the second for needlessly throwing the ball into the face of Zlatko Tripic, in the chaotic draw we covered in our report on Viking. As Sports Mole reported, Lennart Karl is expected to deputise on the right ahead of Serge Gnabry, who is yet to start a game this season.

Joshua Kimmich admitted the absence hurts. "Michael Olise will not be available because of the red card. Obviously that makes things more difficult for us, especially when it comes to replacing a player like him, in a big match like this," Kimmich said. Harry Kane took the other view, as Bavarian Football Works reported: "Of course we will miss one of our players, and now other players have to step up and take their chance. That is the competition at Bayern Munich."

Bayern have other doubts, too. Jamal Musiala, with a thigh problem, is highly unlikely to be fit, Manuel Neuer is a hope rather than a certainty after a foot issue, and Kim Min-jae is a fresh doubt after an unexplained problem in the Leipzig win. Against Leipzig, at least, the attack did not look short of answers: Luis Diaz scored a hat-trick, Kane added a goal and two assists, and Olise himself scored Bayern's third before his suspension made the headlines for a different game.

Arsenal travel without their defensive leader

Arsenal's absentee list is concentrated at the back. Saliba remains out with the back injury that has kept him out all season. He has returned to individual training, but a possible return is not expected until after the November international break. Piero Hincapie, with an ankle injury, and Christos Tzolis, with a hamstring problem, are also out, with neither expected back before the start of November.

That means Ezri Konsa and Gabriel Magalhaes — the pairing praised by Forest boss Oliver Glasner on Sunday — continue in central defence in front of David Raya, against a striker who knows Arsenal better than any other opponent. Kane goes into his 23rd game against the Gunners with 15 goals against them, although he has failed to score in the last two meetings.

Further forward, Noni Madueke can expect a recall. The winger replaced Eberechi Eze at half-time at Nottingham Forest and scored the deflected winner ten minutes from time — Arsenal's first shot on target in the game. Martin Zubimendi is fit again after an ankle injury, but Declan Rice and Bruno Guimaraes are expected to keep their places in midfield, with Bukayo Saka and Martin Odegaard completing the attacking support for Viktor Gyokeres.

What this game will decide

This is more than a group-stage heavyweight clash. Arsenal beat Bayern 3-1 at the Emirates last November — their only win in the last six meetings between the clubs — and another result in Munich would confirm them as genuine contenders to go one better than last season's run to the final. For Bayern, unbeaten in all competitions since April, it is a chance to reassert home authority after the Viking slip and to show their squad depth can absorb the loss of Olise and Musiala in the same week.

The tactical so-what is where the absences bite. Without Olise, Bayern lose their most unpredictable right-sided creator against Myles Lewis-Skelly or Riccardo Calafiori; without Saliba, Arsenal lose their best defender for dealing with Kane's movement between the lines. Something has to give — and with Diaz in hat-trick form on one flank and Madueke pushing for a start on the other, the wide areas are where this tie is most likely to be won and lost.

Beyond the Final Whistle: This is the perfect early-season measuring stick, and the absences make it fairer, not weaker — Bayern without Olise's chaos, Arsenal without Saliba's calm, and Kane against the club he has tormented for a decade. Arsenal's depth got them through at Forest, but Munich is a different examination entirely, and Bayern's response to the Viking draw suggests a side waiting to make a statement. Expect goals, expect Kane to be central to the story, and expect the winner to be talked about as a favourite for the whole competition. Who wins at the Allianz on Wednesday — Bayern or Arsenal? Tell us in the comments.