Arsenal have 1-2% chance of eliminating Bayern Munich, Arsene Wenger says

Arsene Wenger has insisted that Arsenal still have a chance of progressing to the quarter-finals of the Champions League, despite facing a 5-1 deficit against Bayern Munich.

The Gunners conceded four second-half goals in the round-of-16 first leg at the Allianz Arena to leave them with a near impossible task in the second leg at the Emirates on 7 March.

But Wenger pointed to Paris Saint-Germain's shock 4-0 win over Barcelona as evidence that a stunning comeback is not completely out of the question.

"What you expect is that you go out there with a mixture of lucid rage. Total commitment, but not a silly one," the Frenchman was quoted as saying by ESPN.

"Look we missed 45 minutes at Bayern Munich and we have an opportunity to put it right. Let's not fool ourselves, we have a one or two-percent chance. But you never know.

"That's why we have to focus on the quality of our performance and our commitment.

"We finished top of the group, PSG finished second and they beat Barcelona 4-0. Why? Because Barcelona missed the game completely. We have to give our best."

Wenger rued the negativity surrounding the Gunners following their 3-1 defeat to Liverpool at the weekend and called on his players to play with the "handbrake off" against Bayern as they have "nothing to lose".

"It's in a difficult climate at the moment because we have just lost at Liverpool so it's a bit more tense," he said.

"So we have to earn our freedom to play because at the moment we play a little bit with the handbrake. In this game, maybe because we have nothing to lose, we can let the handbrake off and play with more freedom."

Midfielder Mesut Ozil will miss the second leg against Bayern due to illness, while there are question marks over the participation of Alexis Sanchez after the Chilean forward was left out of the starting line-up against Liverpool.