Arsenal will be determined to provide a response after losing the Premier League top spot at the weekend following a late defeat to Aston Villa.
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Arsenal head to Bayern Munich with the hope of securing an unlikely semi-final spot in the Champions League. The Gunners were held to a 2-2 draw in the reverse leg last week by the German giants. Hence, they have the difficult task of having to go to Germany and register a win in order to reach the last four of this competition. Despite Bayern’s struggles this season, it will not be easy for Mikel Arteta’s side to get the win away from home.
Bayern Munich have had a mediocre campaign when compared to their usual high standards. With the side always fighting for the league crown, this season they have been well off the pace, allowing Bayer Leverkusen to win the Bundesliga crown this weekend. Hence, the Champions League could offer them some sort of respite. However, it will not be easy against an Arsenal side that will be determined to provide a response after losing the Premier League top spot at the weekend following a late defeat to Aston Villa.
It is not how Arsenal supporters would want to enter the all-important Bayern game. However, Mikel Arteta insists that the result will have no impact on the Champions League tie. Asked about the mood in the dressing room, Arteta, quoted on Arsenal.com, said in his pre-match press conference, “We’ve thrown the game away and the one we played a few days ago because regardless of that result it’ll have no impact on what’s going to happen tomorrow. We’ll refocus and start to build the confidence, trust and understanding for the performance that we have to put in tomorrow to beat them and be through in the tie.”
This is a chance that Arteta is eager to grasp, as he believes that his side has an “unbelievable opportunity” to complete the mission. When asked about what he wants to see from his players, the manager said, “A performance that puts us in the Champions League semi-final. All the preparation have been to achieve that, and earn it. We have been ready for 10 months and everything we did last season to start that journey in the Champions League after so many years, and tomorrow we have an unbelievable opportunity to make it happen.”
Despite having to settle for only a draw in the first leg, Arteta can take plenty of positives from the result. Asked whether he will ask his players to take the emotion out of the big occasion, the manager stressed the importance of having emotion in football. “Emotion is needed in football, it’s about tweaking it and touching the right buttons at the right time for the team to always be stable, and be hyped when it has to be hyped,” he started.
Arteta elaborated: “I think we did that really well in London because after scoring the first goal in the game, we had a big chance to score the second one, and then in 5-10 minutes they are ahead and were in control. We were mature not to throw everything away in that moment, found our rhythm and our moment to score a really good goal, and the reaction of the team was straight away to score the third one.”
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