ARSENAL were handed a horror Champions League quarter final draw against Bayern Munich – but already have a massive advantage in their first leg at the Emirates.
The Gunners will welcome former Tottenham striker Harry Kane back to North London for the first leg before a mammoth test away in Munich to book a semi-final spot.
However, the German giants will NOT have any away fans at the Emirates for the first leg having received a Uefa one-match ban earlier this week for fan trouble.
During their 1-0 first leg defeat away at Lazio in the last-16, travelling Bayern fans threw fireworks onto the pitch. They would eventually win 3-1 on aggregate to advance.
Having already received a suspended one-match ban – as well as a £30k fine – for an identical incident in the group stages at Copenhagen in October, Uefa were left with no choice but to impose the ban.
This leaves Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal with a massive chance to take advantage in their first leg with a semi-final against either Real Madrid or Manchester City on the horizon.
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The away end at the Emirates will also be free to be filled instead by more home fans, meaning the possibility of the 60,000-capacity stadium being a sell-out without any travelling supporters.
After receiving the ban on Tuesday, Bayern CEO Jan-Christian Dreesen said: “We have to accept this punishment.
“Not only were pyrotechnics set off, but also fired deliberately onto the field, directly endangering bystanders.
“This was such an explicit violation of the conditions of probation that an appeal is unfortunately futile.
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“The fact we now have to play away without the support of our fans is a big blow.
“A small group of individual offenders have done a disservice to all our supporters and the team.”
Arsenal’s quarter final first leg will take place on either the ninth or tenth of April, with the second leg coming a week later on either the 16th or 17th.
Arteta’s men reached this stage after beating Porto in a nervy last-16 shoot-out at the Emirates – the first time they have reached the last eight since 2010.
Elsewhere in the quarters, Atletico Madrid face Borussia Dortmund and PSG play Barcelona.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
