Arsenal have been drawn against Bayern Munich in what promises to be a fascinating Champions League quarter-final tie, and both teams are excited.
The Gunners will compete in the quarter-finals for the first time since 2010, in what is the seventh time they have reached this stage of the Champions League, and they will aim to end a horror run of results against the six-time Champions.
Bayern have not been their usual selves this season, as they look set to miss out on the Bundesliga title for the first time in over a decade, and manager Thomas Tuchel will depart the club at the end of the season.
The former Chelsea coach has now praised Arsenal ahead of the tie, and admitted it will not be easy for his side.
Thomas Tuchel praises Arsenal ahead of Champions League clash with Bayern Munich
Speaking to Bayern Munich club media, Tuchel admitted that his side’s potential path to Wembley looks very tough given the level of opposition they will face.
“We certainly have the most difficult path ahead of us that you can imagine. We now face one of the best teams in Europe,” he stated of Arsenal.
“They’ve been playing consistently at the top level for two years. They’re a homogenous, dangerous team, they score a huge number of goals. We’ll be ready, though. We know our qualities.”
Arsenal’s record against Thomas Tuchel
Tuchel had a short but successful period at Chelsea which saw him win the Champions League with Kai Havertz and Jorginho in his squad, but Arsenal often coped well against his sides.
In just three clashes, Arsenal won twice, with Tuchel’s Chelsea winning 2-0 at the Emirates at the start of the 2021-22 season, as Romelu Lukaku and Reece James piled on the misery for an injury-stricken team in crisis.
Arsenal won twice at Stamford Bridge during Tuchel’s reign. A winner from Emile Smith Rowe in the 2020-21 season saw Mikel Arteta’s side record a surprising 1-0 win, and they repeated this feat with a stunning 4-2 victory at Chelsea to end a run of three consecutive defeats.
Eddie Nketiah scored a brace to add to goals from Smith Rowe and Bukayo Saka, which put Arsenal back into the mix for a top-four spot.
This is now a very different Arsenal team that Tuchel will face, but he has a lot more quality at his disposal now than he did in West London.
Receive a digest of our best Arsenal content each week direct to your mailbox
