Arsene Wenger has claimed Bayern Munich "won't be 100 per cent confident" when they welcome his former side Arsenal to the Allianz Arena on Wednesday.
The Gunners drew 2-2 with the German giants at the Emirates last week in a game that saw the lead change hands, leaving the tie finely poised for the return leg in Munich. Since they last met in north London, both teams have suffered blows on the domestic front.
Bayern finally saw their reign of dominance over the Bundesliga end, with Bayer Leverkusen being crowned champions. It marked the first time anyone other than Bayern had won the league since Borussia Dortmund's triumph in the 2011/12 campaign.
Arsenal's league title hopes took a dent when they were on the wrong end of a shock 2-0 home defeat by Aston Villa. The result means the Gunners now sit second, two points behind reigning champions Manchester City with just six games left to play.
Despite that damaging result, former boss Wenger believes the Gunners can put things right on Wednesday night in Munich. The Frenchman shed light on why Munich could be more fragile than others would predict.
Premier League odds and betting tips
"Arsenal against Bayern is a 50-50 game," Wenger told beIN SPORTS. "Bayern have recently been vulnerable at home in the Bundesliga, they lost to Dortmund in a very important game so they will not be 100% confident. I still think Arsenal might just glide through against Bayern."
Pressed for comment on whether that bold prediction came from his head or his heart, the three-time Premier League winner admitted: "A bit of both, a combination!"
HAVE YOUR SAY! Who will progress - Arsenal or Bayern? Comment below
Arsenal meet Bayern Munich for the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final on Wednesday (DeFodi Images via Getty Images)Coming into the second leg, two of Arsenal's most important players, Martin Odegaard and Bukayo Saka were both injury doubts after being withdrawn from Sunday's defeat against Villa. However, Mikel Arteta has issued an optimistic update on the fitness of both.
"Hopefully [they can play]," said the Spaniard in his pre-match press conference. "We’ve had less than 48 hours to recover from the game and we’ve had very little training, so we will assess them tomorrow and see how they are."
Arteta continued, praising his side for putting themselves in a position where the semi-final is within touching distance. "We have earned it," he added.
"We have earned it for ten months and everything we did last season, to start our journey in the Champions League after so many years. Tomorrow we have an unbelievable opportunity to make it happen."
and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our
Read more similar news:
Comments:
comments powered by Disqus
