Arsenal face Bayern Munich in the Champions League quarter-finals tonight at the Emirates Stadium. Mikel Arteta has indicated that they will need to work together to neutralise the threat that Bayern Munich’s No. 9 Harry Kane may represent when they face Bayern.
Given his goal-scoring prowess, the Englishman was a point of discussion in Arteta’s pre-match press conference. Journalists asked the Arsenal boss how Arsenal could counteract Kane’s game-changing impact. The Arsenal manager emphasised the need for collective defensive efforts against not just him but the entire Bayern club, which, on a good day, can be bad news for any team.
“It’s not only him! I think that the individuals that they have, all the individual qualities of all those players and him in particular, and the ability that he has,” Arteta explained. “The best thing to do is what we do collectively and try to promote certain things.”
This calendar year, Arsenal has been the best defensive team in England and possibly all of Europe. Since the midseason break, they’ve only conceded five goals in all competitions. Arteta clearly wants his team to continue doing what they are doing in order to be defensively compact.
That said, in 19 matches versus Arsenal, Kane has scored 14 goals, which is a respectable total. And, when asked about Kane’s record against Arsenal, the Spaniard stated that he is not looking forward to the striker continuing his charm offensive against our Gunners.
When questioned if Kane’s previous performances against Arsenal would come into play, Arteta answered, “Hopefully not!”
All attention will be on how Arsenal performs against Bayern. They’ve been on a fine run since the winter break, and if they can maintain this form, they could wind up frustrating Thomas Tuchel and his team.
As our Gunners seek to demonstrate their ability to compete in Europe, Arteta’s admission highlights his team’s devotion to a collective defensive effort and strategic focus to neutralise Bayern Munich’s attacking brilliance, led by the brilliant Harry Kane.
As Martin Odegaard said, Arsenal have no fear of facing the ex-Tottenham man…
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