Journalist Gab Marcotti has now made a bold claim about how well Arsenal match up against Bayern Munich on an individual player basis.
Arsenal are set to take on Bayern Munich in the quarter-finals of this year’s Champions League competition.
The Gunners have not been at this stage of Europe’s elite club competition since 2014. It took penalty shootout heroics from David Raya against Porto in the last round to get them this far in the tournament on this occasion.
However, Mikel Arteta will be convinced that his side will have what it takes to overcome the German giants. Former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher has already told Arsenal that they can beat Bayern Munich.
Domestic form certainly makes the north London club heavy favourites in this fixture. Whilst the Bavarian outfit have been uncharacteristically poor in the Bundesliga this season, and look certain to miss out on the title to Xabi Alonso’s Bayer Levekusen, Arsenal are flying high in the Premier League. The Gunners are at the top of the table, and have won eight league matches on the bounce since the turn of the year.
Arsenal now need to carry this form into their Champions League campaign. The first-leg will take place at the Emirates Stadium on April 9th. Arsenal will have one advantage in that match, as the visitors will not be able to bring any fans to north London with them.
Do Bayern Munich have better players than Arsenal?
Arteta certainly won’t be underestimating Bayern Munich, though.
In fact, on a player-for-player basis, Gab Marcotti believes that they are better than the Gunners. Speaking on ESPN, the reporter said, “if you look at the ingredients, individual match-winners, shutdown goalkeeper, I think you would probably give the edge to Bayern there. Frankly, if you were to go one to eleven, and this isn’t a knock on Arsenal, in fact it’s praise for Arsenal, I’m not sure player-for-player Arsenal have better individuals. Arsenal are a better team because I think they have a better manager.”
Bayern Munich do, of course, have some absolute superstars in their ranks. Chief amongst their headlines acts is Harry Kane, who the Gunners know all about from his lengthy spell with their fierce local rivals, Tottenham Hotspur.
The likes of Jamal Musiala, Thomas Muller, and Joshua Kimmich, amongst others, are all elite-level talents. Arsenal have even been credited with a keen interest in Kimmich themselves.
However, the Gunners can boast plenty of quality too. Regardless of Marcotti’s comments, players such as Bukayo Saka, Declan Rice, William Saliba, and club captain Martin Odegaard would all fancy their chances of nailing down a place in the Bayern Munich starting XI themselves.