Who is Glenn Nyberg, the referee for Arsenal vs Bayern in the UCL today?

Sweden’s Glenn Nyberg will referee today’s Champions League quarter-final first leg at the Emirates Stadium, as Arsenal bid to banish the memory of a string of painful European defeats to Bayern Munich.

Can Arsenal gun down Kane and co?

Arsenal’s past three Champions League meetings with Bayern have all ended 5-1 to the German giants, with the last two of those thrashings coming in the 2016/17 round of 16 - the Gunners’ most recent knockout-stage tie in the competition.

What’s more, that 10-2 aggregate hammering was one of three Champions League eliminations that Arsenal suffered at the hands of Bayern during the five-year period between 2012 and 2017.

Tuesday’s quarter-final opener is also notable for former Tottenham idol Harry Kane’s return to North London, in his first season since leaving Arsenal’s arch rivals for Bayern. Kane had an excellent scoring record for Spurs against the Gunners, netting 14 times in 19 derby appearances.

Who is Glenn Nyberg?

Nyberg will be taking charge of his first ever Champions League knockout-stage match. A FIFA-listed referee since 2016, the 35-year-old was given his debut in Europe’s top club competition in 2022/23, and has overseen a total of six games in the tournament.

Among his Champions League run-outs so far is Arsenal’s 2-1 Group B victory away to Sevilla in October. Indeed, all but one of his appearances at this level has involved a British club; Borussia Dortmund and Paris Saint-Germain’s group-stage draw in December is the exception.

The Swede has largely kept his cards in his pocket in the Champions League. He is yet to send anyone off, and has averaged just two bookings per game.

In the domestic game, Nyberg made his debut in the Allsvenksan, Sweden’s top flight, at the age of just 25. Since his Swedish elite-level bow in 2013, he has amassed 225 first-division appearances, and was the man in the middle for IFK Gothenburg’s 2-1 triumph over Malmö in the 2019/20 Swedish Cup final.

Nyberg was also appointed to the final of the Under-20 World Cup in June 2023, as Uruguay beat Italy to win the trophy for the first time.

Arsenal vs Bayern: start time, how to watch

Arsenal and Bayern Munich meet in the Champions League quarter-finals today, Tuesday 9 April 2024, with kick-off at the Emirates Stadium scheduled for 3pm ET/12 noon PT. Viewers in the United States will be able to watch the last-eight first leg on CBS, Paramount+ and ViX.

You can also stream Arsenal vs Bayern live on fuboTV, which offers new users a free trial.

Who will Nyberg’s assistants be? Who will the VAR be?

Nyberg’s compatriots Mahbod Beigi and Andreas Söderqvist will be the assistant referees at the Emirates. Adam Ladebäck, also Swedish, will be the fourth official. The video assistant referee (VAR) will be the Netherlands’ Pol van Boekel, and fellow Dutchman Dennis Higler will be the assistant VAR.