Arsenal are set to face Aston Villa on Sunday as they look to continue their Premier League title challenge, in between games against Bayern Munich.
Mikel Arteta’s side battled to a 2-2 draw with Bayern on Tuesday, and will travel to Munich for the second leg of the Champions League quarter-finals after the Villa game.
Whilst Arsenal will have to balance their title challenge and their European commitments, the same cannot be said for Bayern Munich.
The German giants have won the Bundesliga title for 11 consecutive years, but this run is now coming to an end, as Bayer Leverkusen have the chance to seal a historical victory this weekend which will end this run.
Bayern manager Thomas Tuchel is leaving his club at the end of the season, and it now seems that his full focus is on the Champions League, rather than their remaining Bundesliga matches.
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Thomas Tuchel makes Arsenal admission ahead of Bayer Leverkusen title clash
Speaking in his pre-match press conference ahead of Bayern’s Bundesliga clash with FC Koln tomorrow, Tuchel was asked if he would be watching Leverkusen’s clash with Werder Bremen on Sunday afternoon, in which a win for the home side would confirm them as champions.
“No. I’m going to watch Arsenal,” he replied.
Arsenal’s clash with Aston Villa falls at the same time as Leverkusen’s match, with both table-toppers in action in between their European fixtures.
Bayern Munich’s full focus is on Champions League clash with Arsenal
It is clear from Tuchel’s comments, and from Bayern’s performance on Tuesday, that their full focus now is on getting past Arsenal to reach the Champions League semi-finals.
They have clearly conceded that Xabi Alonso’s side, which includes former Arsenal hero Granit Xhaka, are set to win the title on Sunday, and that they are no longer in the race.
Bayern lost their last two Bundesliga matches heading into the clash at the Emirates, but they put in an excellent performance against Arsenal, and they will be a tough team to beat at the Allianz Arena despite their domestic troubles this season.
Arsenal perhaps underestimated the strength of Bayern’s attack given how far they have fallen behind in the Bundesliga, but they will now go all out to win next week, and they may have the advantage of being able to rotate for their league game this weekend as a result.