Arsenal lose 2-1 at Bayern Munich but reach Champions League quarter-final, according to Football Manager

Arsenal will be defeated by Bayern Munich 2-1 tonight, but the Gunners will still progress past the Champions League group stage, according to a simulation run by Sports Interactive, makers of the Football Manager series of video games.

The Gunners are currently in third place in Group F, having lost two and won one of their three games.

Football Manager have predicted that Arsenal will lose 2-1 to Bayern, pick up a 3-0 win over Dinamo Zagreb and, crucially, beat Olympiakos 3-1 in Greece to snatch second spot after Olympiakos lost to Zagreb on matchday four.

They are then drawn against Wolfsburg in the last 16 where they come out with a 4-2 aggregate win with Giroud scoring twice across the two legs.

In the quarter-finals, Arsene Wenger’s men get paired with Italian champions Juventus and exit the competition after a disappointing 2-0 home defeat and a 0-0 away draw.

Olivier Giroud and Alexis Sanchez top score for Arsenal with four goals each.

Sanchez is also named Arsenal’s best player over the course of the tournament with an average match rating of 7.45.

Football Manager uses a vast database - compiled by approximately 1,000 researchers across the world (including real-life scouts) - to blend reality and fiction. So impressive is the information that it has become a tool used by real life managers. The painstakingly detailing simulation of club management, which allows players to control every aspect of a manager's role, from scouting new player to tactics and training, has sold millions of copies worldwide.