I WANT REVENGE! | Arsenal vs Bayern Munich Champions League Reaction

We tend to always draw Bayern Munich in the Champions League and obviously we've been missing in the Champions League for the last few years now. Us returning to the Champions League in our first Champions League under Mikel Arteta, it wasn't going to go either way. In case you don't know, Arsenal have drawn Bayern Munich in the quarterfinals of the Champions League. Let's get into it. As you should know, unless you've been living under a rock, Arsenal will play Bayern Munich in the quarterfinals. Their legs will be played on the 9th before we travel to Germany on the 17th of April. Shades of the 10-2 come to mind whenever Arsenal fans think of Bayern Munich. There's been numerous disappointments, man. How many times? Again, Bayern Munich is a European powerhouse. It is one of the teams you do want to avoid regardless of their domestic form this season. And one team more often than not, we've lost to quite frankly, people. There has obviously been a couple of rare occasions. We've won the latest being under Arsene Wenger, which was so long ago. We won in 2015. And since then, we've been getting smashed people. And it's not pretty reading or pretty viewing. I'd implore Arsenal fans to not watch the highlights. Thomas Muller is already starting the nonsense with Kai Havertz. It will be a game for old friends uniting. Arsenal player Harry Kane, better yet known for his Spurs exploits, our arch nemesis in the North London derby people, obviously plays for Bayern Munich. Naturally, former Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel is going to be filled with praise for Mikel Arteta's Arsenal side. And rightly so. We've been progressing quite well. As I said, don't look at their domestic table position. Nine times out of 10 teams struggling domestically do a crazy madness in Europe. They currently are 10 points behind Granit Xhaka's Leverkusen, Xabi Alonso. The last time we played Bayern Munich, it was that team, as you can see in front. It's fair to say we're in a better health as a football club, and it would be the perfect time for revenge. We can't always be ruled by emotion, but I want that. Allegedly Bayern Munich fans won't be at the Emirates, so let's make the home tie count. I don't really want to go to Germany. And Arsenal will actually be able to fill the away end, so let's make it a nervous atmosphere. Our gaffer Mikel Arteta is going to have to produce a managerial masterclass. Thomas Tuchel is a great manager and a tinkerman in his own right. When you look at the average midfield positions, it's going to be an interesting battle across 90 minutes. Again, we've got one of the best defensive records currently in the Champs, and we've got some good goalscorers, although you can also see Harry Kane at the top of the list, folks. So it'll be an interesting one, and if we do win, we play either Real Madrid or Manchester City. It is what it is, people. We wanted a seat at this table, and we've got it, people, and we're going to have to stand up to be counted, hopefully. Now, people, when it comes to Arsenal versus Bayern Munich, I've got a few extended thoughts. The first thing would be, some Arsenal fans were saying they only fear Madrid, they only fear Munich, they only fear this team, that team, and the third. Now you've got what you've wished for. For me, if we wanted a seat at this table, if we wanted to be in this realm, if this is the project that we want to do, not only getting to the latter stages of competitions, but believing we can win it, not necessarily isolated to this season, and making ourselves definitely where the last eight, hopefully the last four, hopefully the last two, and hopefully the last one getting to the final are concerned, this is the territory we wanted to be in. Whether it's Real Madrid, Manchester City, Bayern Munich, any team currently that you would describe as one of the top teams in Europe, this is the realm we wanted to be in. So these are the teams you have to defeat and show and display your quality. I do think we're not going to win it in terms of the Champions League. I do think there's a little bit more of a handbrake that we've got. I think there's more of a bit of experience required, and just generally I don't think we're ready for it, but we're ticking along. This is a fantastic test for Mikel Arteta to show his quality against his counterpart, Thomas Tuchel, who's got to two Champions League finals winning one. Obviously, Bayern Munich have a lot of players that have won this competition and a wealth of experience. I really do hope we make the first leg count because we're going to Germany and I don't know what's that going to entail, but I believe we can beat anybody at the Emirates personally, and to know that there's no Bayern Munich fans, we need to make it a noisy and difficult atmosphere and also do the business on the pitch. As you lot know, with us now playing Bayern Munich, with Manchester City to come, with Chelsea, with a trip to Old Trafford, basically with 10 Premier League games left, let's assume 12 because we hope we get to the semi-finals, but we've got 12 games left. We need to go for it. This is the most decisive part of the season. Generally, this season we've done very well. We hit a blip at the end of 2023. We've come out the blocks firing in 2024, beating Liverpool and putting on a great run and scoring a lot of goals. The players that have come into the side that are not necessarily regulars are looking very good. Obviously, the summer signings, with the exception of Timba and Declan Rice, because he showed it from the start, specifically Raya, and obviously Kai Havertz are showing their qualities. The Jesuses, the Thomas Partais, the Tomiyasus, the Zinchenkos, they're all coming back to full fitness. I hope that we're still saying these same things when we play Bayern Munich in April. Let's go and test ourselves. Yes, it's scary to a degree. Of course, you would love an easier run, but there's no easy teams at this stage of the Champions League. Regardless, everybody's earned the right to be here, and it's only going to get more difficult. And for me, if you compare Mikel Arteta to Thomas Tuchel, our attacking players versus the defenders, our defenders versus Bayern Munich's attackers, the star-studded quality in depth. This is how you see how good you are and how far you have to go, because the margins for error as you go on in tournament football obviously becomes less and less. To reach this stage in the quarter-finals for the first time in 14 years, I'm proud of the boys. The last time we played Bayern Munich to now, we're a dramatically different club in terms of our identity, in terms of how we're regarded in Europe, and in terms of how people class Arsenal. And it's now time for us to come of age. Do I expect to beat Bayern Munich? Of course, you can't say that. Do I expect to get to the semis and the final? I hope so. I support all the way. But I think it will be a difficult task and probably a mountain or a step too far at this moment in time in line with our project. Again, it'll be interesting on the topic of Mikel Arteta versus Thomas Tuchel, because they're both known as tinkermen. They're both very good and innovative in their tactics. As I said, Thomas Tuchel has reached two finals and is significantly more experienced. And you can bet your bottom dollar that our friends and family that support the Liverpools, the Chelseas, the Spurs, they'll be all preying on our downfall really and truly. And it doesn't get any better, does it? Because if you do win, you've got Pep Guardiola's where that'll be if we did get them and we do go through and they beat Real Madrid, that would have obviously been five times or so we would have played them this season. Obviously, it's Arteta versus Pep Guardiola. Currently, Manchester City are the holders. I'd rather play Manchester City than Real Madrid. Yes, Pep Guardiola is the biggest and baddest manager in the land and has a case of being the best manager ever. But it just feels like there's something in the water with Real Madrid when it comes to this competition. And Real Madrid, not saying City aren't, but Real Madrid are a kind of team you could be winning 2-0 in the 90th minute. Somehow you've lost 3-2. It's like the Champions League stuff comes over them. Bayern Munich do look frail by their own standards and what you become accustomed to for Bayern Munich. I would say, you know, throughout the whole Champions League campaign, they haven't looked convincing. Domestically, they haven't necessarily looked convincing. But that makes me a bit more, not fearful, but wary a lot more because when Real Madrid last won the Champions League, the second from last time, they didn't have the best of domestic records. When we got to the final in 2006, we didn't have the best of domestic records. Obviously, half the teams you look at really lost two times. Chelsea have won it. The domestic campaign hasn't been amazing. I do think there's frailties in what Thomas Tuchel is doing. I do think there's frailties in Bayern Munich. I think you have to respect their experience, their European pedigree, the experience of their players and the quality of their players. And we need to be wary defensively, which is why I'm happy we've improved defensively a tenfold. But I do think their defence can be got at. I don't think Kim Munger has been benched. He's taking a while to settle in. Opo Mokono looks like baby food. Eric Dier looks like baby food. I think it's a bit of how Thomas Tuchel is deploying the side. But I do think they can be got at. But as much as it's about tactics, it's about the mentalness of the game. And if I look at Mikel Arteta, the last couple of times we've been in the latter stages of European competition, you know, we did what we needed to do at the Emirates against Porto. But the first leg wasn't amazing. I know when you go back to the Europa League and you look at sport in Lisbon, obviously the narrative is we lost on penalties. Ramsdell got done from the halfway line, which is true. But I believe the damage was done in the first leg. I also believe the same against Villarreal and I also believe the same against Olympiacos. I do think, you know, the way we've made the Emirates a bit of a fortress, we've had some great results this season. You know, I think this is where we need to take advantage. I think if there's an opportunity to kill that game in the first leg and score a decent amount of goals, then we need to, because the trip to their place is not going to be easy. Hopefully Gnabry wants Aguna, always Aguna. I can extend that to Harry Kane. They're leaking the team news and things like that. But I've got complete faith that we're not going to get smacked 10-2 on aggregate. Whether we win or lose, I don't know. But I don't think we're going to get smacked like that. I do think there's going to be a bit more pride in the team. And I think generally this season there's been bumps and bruises and areas of improvement and twists and turns, but there's a lot more resilience to setbacks. There's a lot, there's a stronger mental capacity from the team. You know, you look at the Porto game in previous years, we might have lost at the Emirates or it would have been nil-nil and we lose based on the first leg. You know, against Brentford in the Premier League, the narrative would have been Ramsdell's mistake, but we've reacted to setbacks across the season. I think the whole team's improved defensively. I think there's more of a professionalism and street smartness and game management aspect to our team versus last year. We're starting to play that silky football again. So I've got full confidence in us giving a good account of ourselves. Whether we'll make the difference, whether we've got the stardust and the individual quality in comparison to a Bayern Munich, generally a Real Madrid, Manchester City, if we get through there, then who knows? But I think the boys should relish it. You know, again, yes, it's fearful and a lot of these boys ain't been in this competition at this moment in time. But this is better problems than when we bottled fourth, than when we've been back to eighth. This is the area we wanted to be in. This is a reward, in my opinion, for the players and the management and everything, of all the hard work they've put in with the philosophy, with the recruitment, with the retaining and training and taking players to the other level. This is what we wanted to do. We're at the top bracket in Europe. We're at this moment in time. Do I think Arsenal's the biggest and baddest team in the world? No, as much as I love the club. But we're in the last eight. So based on this season, out of all the teams that entered the Champions League, we are one of the best eight teams. When last did we ever say any of that? So hopefully, we can go through to the next round. Hopefully, we can become accustomed to being in scenarios like this. Hopefully, long term, whether it's domestically, fighting Liverpool City or whoever for Premier League titles or the Champions League, historically, not necessarily now, but Barcelona, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, what Manchester City on the pep has been. Hopefully, in the years to come, we can approach these sort of fixtures with not a, I wouldn't say inferiority complex or the underdogs tag, but we believe in our own right that we can do this thing. And obviously, world football itself, it is what it is, people. It's going to be a dramatic end to the season. The games are coming thick and fast. We don't know the status around players' injuries at the time. And it just means what's left of March when we do start playing again in April, there's a lot to go for. Hopefully, there's many more games and I would say there'd be about 16, 17 games on top of the 12 we've got on paper to play now, assuming my mask is off. But we obviously win the two games against Bayern, win against whoever City and Real Madrid go through and obviously win the final. But we've got 12 cup finals. We need to go game by game. Obviously, we've got, allegedly, because I don't look at the league table, we're topping the Premier League. We've got 10 games to go. We've got some many difficult games and it's not going to be plain sailing. But as I said, the resilience has been there to react to setbacks and to just keep doing what we're doing. Because even if you go back to December, for me, yes, when you're not picking up points against West Ham at home, which was crazy, Aston Villa in Newcastle, I think the performance warranted victory, but we didn't get over the line. Of course, it's disappointing, especially when you're going toe-to-toe with Liverpool and City. But when we were dropping these points, I don't know what it was for, probably because we're not putting the ball in the back of the net. But it wasn't like we were playing terrible. You could see moments of brilliance from us to a degree or what we're trying to do. We just weren't getting the result. Sometimes that happens or sometimes your team's just playing crap. And fortunately, we weren't playing crap. We just weren't getting the job done. So we've shown that resilience to keep working, keep believing in things when we're necessarily not getting the result. And we started the year well. We're doing quite well. We've been winning our Premier League games. As I said, we're top of the table. We've beaten Porto and come back from behind. And I do think for Mikel Arteta, we need to learn to break down low blocks. Maybe based on the two legs against Porto, start correlating that early Champions League group stage form into killing teams. And also what we've been doing in the Premier League, because yes, Real Madrid, City, Bayern Munich, they've got great attackers and we need to be fearful and very respectful of them. And I know age and inexperience to a degree comes into it. But generally, you know, no one wants to play against, and I know it was amazing against Porto, no one wants to play against Mikael Saka, Gabriel Jesus, Martinelli and Odegaard and all these guys. We've got hitmen as well. So I want to see us give a good account of ourselves and go down fighting if it is that, people. As I said, we've got 12 cup finals. We've got to play Bayern Munich twice and we've got 10 games in the Premier League. It's all to play for. There's two trophies on the line. Do I think we're going to get either done? No, but I want to be wrong, of course. And based on how we've been moving, I wouldn't say I've got confidence necessarily, but I'm filled of confidence from what we've done internally that regardless of the outcome, we can best attack our collective goals. So yeah, man, Bayern Munich, listen, they've been smacking us up. We need revenge for the 10-2. The whole world thinks Arsenal is going to crumble. Who knows what's going to happen? But hopefully we can get the job done. Let me know your thoughts on drawing Bayern Munich. Do you think we could do it? Don't you believe we can do it? You know, again, we can't look beyond Bayern Munich, but if you've got Real Madrid or Manchester City, two teams who have done what we want to do, where's your feeling on that? And it'd also be lovely to get it done because as you lot remember, the final is at Wembley, which would obviously be interesting for not only Arsenal because we're English, but for the homegrown players. You know, I know you won't play, but the Ramsdales, the Sackers, the Benjamin Whites, the Declan Rices, et cetera, et cetera. So let me know your thoughts, people. On that note, I'm going to get out of here.