In preparation for our Champions League quarter-final against Bayern Munich, Mikel Arteta is expecting the six-time European champions to bring their A-game to north London.
The German giants head into this game on the back of successive defeats in the Bundesliga, almost certainly ending their 11-year reign at the top of German football with Bayern Leverkusen set to be crowned champions.
But with the Champions League being their only chance of silverware this season, our boss feels they will be desperate to make amends, and feels a team including talents such as Jamal Musiala, Thomas Muller, Alphonso Davies, Leroy Sane and certain Harry Kane demands and deserves plenty of respect.
Analysing their season so far, Mikel said: “Football is such a competitive environment and so difficult to be consistent that this can happen to anybody.
“It’s something that we have no say or control over and we just expect all the time the best from our opponent, against Bayern, Brighton or Aston Villa. Regardless of where they are, you always have to expect that they play in their best possible way and be prepared to outperform them.
“They’re a tough team. I’m a big fan, a big admirer of Thomas [Tuchel], his teams, the way they settle and play, the way they transmit. I learn a lot about him, and looking at Bayern when you are analysing this league, you see why they are a top team. We have prepared very well, and we have to take our game where we want it. If we do that, we have a chance to win.
“That’s something that we’re looking to do in every single match. If we are able to do it in one match and not in three, then it’s not part of us. To make sure that things are ingrained within the team and we are consistently delivering this type of thing, I’m proud of what the team is showing, the character and mentality they are showing and we have to carry on doing it.”
Kane’s return to north London made headlines as soon as the draw was made, but Mikel feels there is so much quality within Bayern’s ranks it would be foolish to focus on one dangerman in particular.
On the England captain’s return to these shores, he added: “I think that the individuals that they have, all the individual qualities of all those players and him in particular, and the ability that he has. When you look at his numbers over the last 10 years, it’s unbelievable what he’s done.
“He can score in many different ways, he’s got the service, he’s got the players around him as well to provide those opportunities and this is what we have to try to avoid.”
Copyright 2024 The Arsenal Football Club Limited. Permission to use quotations from this article is granted subject to appropriate credit being given to www.arsenal.com as the source.
