Gary Neville can see Arsenal struggling against Bayern Munich but insists he wants them to win their Champions League quarter-final clash.
The Gunners meet the German giants at the last-eight stage of European club football’s most prestigious competition. The first leg will be contested at the Emirates in front of a stadium full of Arsenal fans, with Bayern supporters banned from the ground by UEFA for throwing fireworks onto the pitch against Lazio last time out.
Mikel Arteta’s men are in fine form as of late, making a stellar start to the calendar year. Arsenal sit top of the Premier League on goal difference with seven games to go, as they chase a first league title since 2004.
With that being said, a Champions League is perhaps even more coveted by the Emirates faithful, given the Gunners have never won one in their otherwise illustrious history. Neville isn’t exactly confident that their wait for European silverware will end any time soon, though.
Speaking on the Gary Neville podcast, the ex-Manchester United man said he thinks Bayern’s experience could see Arsenal fall short, but did praise the Gunners for their recent form. “These are proper performances that Arsenal are putting in,” he explained.
“They’re not just performances whereby they’re winning games. You talk about performance levels in every single department, these are real performances. Even the one at the Etihad was a real performance from a defensive perspective.
“As good as you’ll see. And yesterday was so professional. A title-winning type performance where you just do your job. I hope Arsenal beat Bayern Munich. Of course I do. I actually think Arsenal will struggle against Bayern Munich. I know Bayern Munich at this moment in time are having a horrid time in the Bundesliga.
“But I just feel that Arsenal will struggle against the might, the history, going to the Allianz in the second-leg. That may just be too much for them, from the point of view of sometimes there’s a learning that has to occur in the Champions League. I think that Arsenal may experience that in the next couple of weeks, whether that’s good for them or bad, we don’t know yet.”
Arsenal come into Tuesday’s game in far better form than Bayern, with the Gunners cruising to a 3-0 victory away at Brighton on Saturday evening. In contrast, Thomas Tuchel’s side surrendered a 2-0 lead and ended up losing 3-2 to Heidenheim.
