Arsenal out to tame 'angry' Bayern Munich again

BERLIN (Reuters) - Confident Arsenal travel to Bayern Munich on Wednesday hoping to tame the German champions for a second time in two weeks, and are promising to attack despite a string of injuries.

Arsenal out to tame 'angry' Bayern Munich again

(Reuters)





The English club are on a high after a fifth consecutive Premier League win at the weekend - a 3-0 victory at Swansea - and the timing of their visit to the Bavarian capital could hardly be better.

Bayern dropped their first points in the Bundesliga on Friday with a goalless draw at Eintracht Frankfurt.

It followed 10 consecutive victories from the start of the season and, coupled with their 2-0 loss at the Emirates Stadium on Oct. 20 - their first defeat in all competitions - Bayern have shed some of that invincible aura.

Arsenal's victory over Bayern put Arsene Wenger's side back in contention in Group F with three points. Bayern and Olympiakos have six.

"They (Bayern) will be angry," said Arsenal defender Per Mertesacker. "We are the first team who really challenged them and beat them. They will be on the ball and try to show that they are back and better than us."

The former Germany international added: "They are clever, the Germans. We showed that we can beat them. That is a good sign but it will be a different game at their place.

"We improved our position in the last game against Munich but we need to get something out of this game."

Arsenal are missing key players, including Theo Walcott, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Danny Welbeck and Jack Wilshere.

But with Olivier Giroud having scored six goals in his past six games and playmaker Mesut Ozil delivering nine assists in 10 league games, they are not prepared to sit back and defend.

"I would sign today to take a point," said coach Arsene Wenger. "But to sit off Bayern, with their offensive quality, would be difficult to maintain for 90 minutes. We have to relieve the ­pressure whenever we can and try to score goals.

"That is our structure of the team, to attack. If you get our players to defend then I do not think we will be so efficient. We have to play every time we can."

Bayern, who last season won all six home games in the competition en route to the semi-finals, are by no means in a slump, and their dominance and string of chances against defensive Eintracht was indicative of the team's attacking instincts.

Bayern will have Arjen Robben fit for his first Champions League game of the season after the Dutchman was injured in September, but they will be without Mario Goetze, while Juan Bernat and Holger Badstuber are doubtful.

"We will show Arsenal on Wednesday the real Bayern," said Bayern midfielder Arturo Vidal. "Our confidence is high and this time we will use our chances and get the three points."









(Additional reporting by Steve Tongue, editing by Stephen Wood)


Share

3 min read

Published

Source: Reuters



Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world