Edu Expresses Confidence In Arsenal’s Ability To Defeat Bayern Munich In The Champions League.
Edu Expresses Confidence In Arsenal’s Ability To Defeat Bayern Munich In The Champions League.
Arsenal’s sporting director, Edu, expresses confidence in the Gunners’ ability to overcome Bayern Munich in the Champions League and potentially win the tournament. In the last 16, Arsenal managed to advance past Porto with a nerve-wracking 4-2 penalty shootout victory at the Emirates Stadium after a 1-1 aggregate draw.
This victory marked the end of Arsenal’s 14-year wait to progress beyond the last 16 in the Champions League, a stage they hadn’t reached since the 2009-10 season. During this period, Arsenal suffered seven consecutive last-16 eliminations, including three defeats to Bayern Munich in the 2012-13, 2013-14, and 2016-17 seasons. Notably, Bayern Munich inflicted heavy defeats on Arsenal, including a 10-2 aggregate victory in the 2016-17 campaign and a 5-1 defeat in the 2015-16 group stage.
Before their defeat at the Emirates against Bayern Munich, Arsenal had previously been eliminated from the 2004-05 Champions League last 16 by the Bavarians, who have lost only three out of their 12 competitive encounters against English opponents.
Even if Arsenal manage to avenge their recent defeats against the Bundesliga champions, they will still need to overcome either reigning champions Manchester City or 14-time winners Real Madrid to reach the final, where they could face Atletico Madrid, Borussia Dortmund, Barcelona, or Paris Saint-Germain.
Following Friday’s draw ceremony in Switzerland, Edu, who played in the first leg of Arsenal’s 2004-05 exit to Bayern, expressed confidence that Arsenal can aspire to European success at Wembley in June.
“Why not? We have to dream because of the way we are playing and the momentum we have,” the Daily Mail quotes the 45-year-old as saying. “This is the position we have to always be in because of the size of the club. We’re back where we belong.”
When Arsenal last faced Bayern over seven years ago, the Germans were dominant champions of the Bundesliga. However, a challenging season under Thomas Tuchel now puts them at risk of ending the 2023-24 campaign without a major trophy.
Adding to their woes, Tuchel’s team experienced an upset in the DFB-Pokal, falling to third-tier Saarbrucken, who have since progressed to the semi-finals. Additionally, they suffered a 3-0 defeat to RB Leipzig in the German Super Cup.
As Bayern navigates through a challenging season, Tuchel is set to depart from his position, just over a year since taking over from Julian Nagelsmann. This follows Nagelsmann’s surprising dismissal.
Despite these setbacks, the former Chelsea manager guided Bayern to a successful comeback against Lazio in the Champions League round of 16. After a 1-0 loss in the first leg, they secured a 3-0 victory at the Allianz Arena. Furthermore, they displayed dominance in the Bundesliga with an 8-1 thrashing of Mainz.
In the midst of these triumphs, Harry Kane’s hat-trick in the Bundesliga fixture against Mainz brought his season tally to an impressive 36 goals. As he prepares to face Arsenal next month, Kane carries with him a remarkable record of 14 goals from his previous 19 matches against his former club, Tottenham Hotspur.
