German football expert Lewis Ambrose has now explained how Arsenal could be plotting to exploit Bayern Munich’s weak spots.
Arsenal will be aiming to make full use of their home advantage in the first-leg of their Champions League quarter-final clash with Bayern Munich on Tuesday night.
As the Gunners have not been at this stage in Europe’s elite-level club competitions for 14 years, Mikel Arteta will recognise how important this fixture is to the North London outfit. The Spanish coach will be eager to see his side play without fear when they welcome the Germans giants to the Emirates Stadium.
Arsenal will have another boost against Bayern Munich in the first-leg, as the visitors will not be allowed to bring any of their own supporters into the ground. There will therefore be a huge onus on the home fans to generate a raucous, cauldron-like atmosphere to inspire and support Arteta’s men.
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The Gunners should be full of confidence heading into this match. They have been in remarkable form of late, after all. Jamie Carragher is convinced that Arsenal have what it takes to beat Bayern Munich.
That is not to say that the German outfit don’t pose a huge challenge. Whilst Thomas Tuchel’s side have struggled domestically this season, and are now set to miss out on the Bundesliga title for the first time since 2012, their squad is still stacked with star names.
The likes of Harry Kane, Jamal Musiala, Leroy Sane, and Serge Gnabry, amongst others, are all good enough to hurt the Gunners. It has even been said that Bayern Munich boast more individual quality in their ranks than Arsenal do.
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Arteta will have faith in his players, though, and for good reason. Arsenal have already beaten Manchester City and Liverpool in the Premier League this season, proving that they can take on and score goals against the best.
Arteta will be looking to his key attacking talents such as Bukayo Saka, Martin Odegaard, Gabriel Martinelli, Kai Havertz, and Gabriel Jesus to show what they can do against Bayern Munich.
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Lewis Ambrose certainly thinks that there are chinks in Bayern Munich’s armour that Arsenal can look to target.
Speaking to Charles Watts on his Inside Arsenal YouTube channel, Ambrose said, “it’s between midfield and defence, firstly. It’ll be Odegaard, it’ll be Havertz, dropping off the front line and the combinations in there, and it’ll be down the flanks…That’ll be where the dangers are, for me. If Martinelli is in, that’ll be great. If not, Jesus has played really well.”
“Martinelli and Saka with those direct runs, balls over the top, balls through the back line. Rice, we know, can drive into those spaces too. Then those combinations of Odegaard and Havertz…that’s where you can get at Bayern, where you can hurt them this season.”
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