Giroud sees early goal as key to potential Arsenal comeback

Arsenal striker Olivier Giroud says an early goal against Bayern Munich is key to possibly securing a Champions League quarterfinal berth on Wednesday night.

The Gunners travel to the Allianz Arena with a 3-1 first-leg deficit to overturn against a team unbeaten since October and victorious in all European home games this season, knowing a two-goal home leg defeat has never been reversed in the competition’s history.

Giroud, however, is upbeat regarding Arsenal’s chances and believes the Bavarians' style of football will suit his game and boost his chances of scoring.

"We need to score an early goal. In football you never know. We need to believe and stay focused," Giroud told German magazine Kicker. "I like to play against German teams because they are attacking all the time. There I get myself more possibilities to score, but we need to correct our bad defensive behavior as well."

Giroud is goalless in his last six outings for Arsenal, but could fancy his chances against Bayern on Wednesday after Thomas Mueller insisted the runaway Bundesliga leader will not try to defend its way to victory.

"We are not going to sit back and crowd the defense," Mueller said. "They have nothing to lose, they can attack all the way. We have to be careful."