It took some effort if you wanted to drive by car in Munich on Monday morning. Frozen windows prevented an immediate getaway, and ice scrapers are in high demand. By contrast, FCB are warmed up and ready to go for the crucial Champions League encounter with Arsenal at the Allianz Arena on Wednesday at 20.45 CET.

After 90 minutes of training Philipp Lahm said that the Bavarians' rhythm was "extreme" in the last few weeks, so it was helpful that no official workout took place on Sunday. "We recovered fairly well," said Lahm, adding that the men from Munich are "well prepared" for the match-up with the Gunners. "They're a top team with top players," acknowledged Lahm, "at this level we have to prove we're the better team."

"We should try to win -- because we almost have to," warned chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge on FCB.tv with regard to the situation in Group F, "if not, we'll be under pressure ourselves at some point." Robert Lewandowski added: "After the defeat in London we need points. Our situation is still good on six points, but we absolutely want to win."

'It would make things easier'

The skipper wants three points too. "We're playing at home, it's a top match, and we aim to win. It's an important game for us if we want to get to the next round." The Bavarians would consolidate their lead with three more points, explained the 31-year-old, but a victory over Arsenal would still not guarantee first place in the group. "It's very, very difficult to be at the top."

And Arsenal are a very challenging proposition, as the Bavarians saw two weeks ago. "We didn't put in a very good performance," Lewandowski noted. The Gunners adopted unusually defensive tactics but made very good use of the few chances they created. FCB want to score on Wednesday, preferably the first goal of the match, declared the Pole: "It would make things easier."