Arsenal vs Bayern Munich: Eberechi Eze and Michael Olise team up again in the Champions League

While Arsenal’s Champions League encounter with Bayern Munich is a clash between two of Europe’s in-form clubs – both with a 100% record in the competition, and both with a six-point advantage domestically – it is also a meeting and friendly rivalry between two key strikers.

For either team, a win at the Emirates Stadium would finish the league stage in the top eight and secure a place in the round of 16, while maintaining an impressive start to the domestic season. The Gunners have lost only once in all competitions, and Bayern have not lost.

But the match will also have personal significance for two of Europe’s most creative and in-form strikers, who will face each other just 18 months after terrorizing Premier League defenses in unison.

Arsenal’s Eberechi Eze and Bayern’s Michael Olise have been good friends since the three seasons they spent together at Crystal Palace – a relationship strengthened by their love of chess.

After France international Olise taught Eze how to play the game, the pair often took out pieces in order to compete on Palace’s training ground, helping to form a bond that led to what was sometimes described as a telepathic understanding on the pitch.

This was Eze’s natural flair in a match in which he won $20,000 in an online tournament in May – but he will be wary of being outdone by Olise on the field.

“I didn’t start learning chess until Michael came,” Eze told The Athletic.

“It was him and my brother who pushed me to learn how to play and face them, and that’s when I started studying the game, watching YouTube videos of the best chess openings.”

Both players have taken a similar path over the past few years, rising from the Championship to fulfilling their potential at Crystal Palace.

They combined eight times to score goals for the Eagles, with Olise providing all eight assists for Eze’s goals.

Now, they are competing against each other at the top of the European game, and are also expected to feature for their country in the World Cup.

But will either of them help their team secure a full-time checkmate position?