Leg one of the Champions League quarter-finals is on the horizon. Arsenal will host Bayern Munich at Emirates Stadium, on Wednesday (10/04) at 12.30 am IST. Bayern have a superior record in past meetings.
Arsenal have lost the last three matches against Bayern with the same final result: 1-5. All three matches took place in the Champions League. Bayern have also always qualified in the previous four meetings in the knockout phase.
But, that was in the past and the current conditions of the two teams turned 180 degrees. Arsenal are on fire with competitive rivalries in the Premier League and Champions League, as well as the sharpest and best defense in the league.
In contrast, Bayern are struggling with the potential to fail to defend the Bundesliga title for the 12th time in a row, inconsistently playing under the direction of Thomas Tuchel.
However, Bayern’s new striker and Tottenham Hotspur legend Harry Kane has had a good season personally, scoring 38 goals in 37 games across all competitions and providing 12 assists.
The England captain has also scored a total of 14 goals against Arsenal. Kane is clearly a scourge for Arsenal’s defence and Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard has asked his teammates to respect him but not fear him and the Bayern squad.
“I think we (Arsenal) have to respect him (Kane), but I don’t think we need to be afraid of anyone,” Odegaard said as reported by Goal.
“And we have to focus on ourselves and the quality we have in our team, and that’s all.”
“(Kane is) a good player, of course, and I’ve played against him a few times and we know the quality he has in the box and he’s also good in the build-up. We face a good team on Tuesday,” explained the Norwegian captain.