Arsenal are set to face Bayern Munich in the Champions League quarter-final first leg tonight, and the two teams are experiencing contrasting fortunes right now.
The Gunners are currently top of the Premier League, above Liverpool on goal difference and one point ahead of Manchester City, and are unbeaten in the league in 2024.
Bayern meanwhile, are about to lose the Bundesliga title for the first time in over a decade, with Granit Xhaka’s Bayer Leverkusen side on the verge of a historical unbeaten triumph.
The Champions League is Bayern’s last chance of winning silverware this season, but back-to-back losses in the Bundesliga have made a trip to the Emirates daunting, particularly as there will be no away fans supporting them.
Manager Thomas Tuchel, formerly of Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain, will leave his role at the end of the season, and he has now admitted that his side may find it difficult to beat Mikel Arteta’s high-flyers.
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Thomas Tuchel praises Arsenal ahead of Champions League clash with Bayern Munich
Speaking ahead of the first leg at the Emirates, via The Athletic, Tuchel claimed that Arsenal are the best team in the Premier League, and highlighted Arteta’s impact at the club.
“Arsenal are currently the best team in the Premier League, all statistics prove that. They’re in fantastic form,” he stated.
“They define themselves as a team. They’re also the best side in Europe from set pieces.
“We’re a little behind. They’re playing at a consistently high level for the second year in a row and they play with a lot of energy. There’s been a culture change under Arteta.”
Mikel Arteta has a surprisingly strong record against Thomas Tuchel
This will be the first time Arteta and Tuchel face each other since the German was surprisingly sacked by Chelsea in September 2022.
Tuchel won the Champions League with Chelsea in the same season Arsenal failed to qualify for Europe under Arteta, but despite the gulf in quality between the two squads at the time, Arteta’s record against the 50-year-old is impressive.
In three meetings, Arteta won twice, with both victories coming in shock results at Stamford Bridge. An Emile Smith Rowe winner gave Arsenal three points in May 2021, but the league season was all but over for both sides at that point.
Tuchel then won at the Emirates in August 2021, with goals from Reece James and Romelu Lukaku handing Chelsea a win in North London, as Arsenal faced an injury crisis and lost their opening three games of the season.
With Arsenal then fighting for a top four spot, they lost three matches in a row before heading to Stamford Bridge in April 2022, but a brace from Eddie Nketiah, another goal from Smith Rowe and a penalty from Bukayo Saka handed the Gunners a famous 4-2 victory away at Chelsea, in what was the beginning of Tuchel’s downfall.