Gunners' boss confident
even though he accepts they are entertaining the favourites to win the
Champions League in last-16 tie's first leg on Wednesday
Arsene Wenger reckons Bayern Munich are
the best team on the planet - but believes his Arsenal side can knock them out of the
Champions League.
The Gunners only lost out to the
Germans, who would go on to lift the European Cup, on away goals at this same
last-16 stage last season and Wenger claims he now has a better side to take
them on when the sides meet
again at the Emirates on Wednesday night.
When asked whether Bayern are the best in the world, the Arsenal manager
said: “They won the World Club Cup [last December], they won the European
championship, so I would have to say yes.
“Maybe in the style there is always room for improvement but if they just
do the same achievements this season they can say they have improved because
it’s more difficult to do it again.
“We know we face the favourites of the competition. But we have belief. We
are in a much better mental shape than a year ago.
“We have a strong team spirit, that is for sure, and a strong desire to do
well and a united team.
“We did not always have the belief, because belief is built by the results
and on that front we are stronger.”
Bayern blew Arsenal away in the first leg
at the Emirates last season, winning 3-1 in
a match that looked like men against boys in the first half.
But, of all the club sides that Wenger has played in his career, the
Frenchman says the Barcelona team which knocked the Gunners out of Europe's
No.1 competition two years in both 2010 and 2011 - and was coached by current
Bayern boss Pep Guardiola - was the best.
He said: “I was most impressed by the Barcelona team at the peak, through
the speed of their passing and the speed of their game. Hopefully I will not
have the same impression tomorrow night [Wednesday]. Until now, in my life,
it’s the best team I’ve played against.
“Can Bayern reach that level? I don’t know. I will tell you more after the
game.”
Wenger will stress the need to keep a clean sheet against Bayern in this
season's first leg on Wednesday, to give themselves more than a fighting chance
in the return on March 11.
It was in Munich where the first seeds of Arsenal's recovery were sewn.
Although their 2-0 win was
not enough to turn the tie around, it restored belief.
That match also saw Per Mertesacker and Laurent Koscielny paired together
in central defence.
The Koscielny-Mertesacker axis is now firmly established and has helped
Arsenal keep ten clean sheets in their last 13 home matches.
Wenger added: “They have developed very well, they complement each other,
they play many games together now and I think that helps as well. Overall they
have shown, through the statistics, that they are a very reliable pair in the
centre of the spine.
“This is another good opportunity to show it again in the game tomorrow
against a team with a very strong offensive potential. But I am sure we will do
well.”
Arsenal vs
Bayern Munich: Probable Line Up
Arsenal Szczesny; Sagna, Mertesacker, Koscielny, Gibbs; Flamini, Wilshere,
Ozil; Rosicky, Cazorla, Giroud.
Bayern Munich Neuer; Rafinha, Boateng, Dante,
Alaba; Lahm, Thiago; Robben, Kroos, Muller; Gotze.
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