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The Gunners surprised Bayern Munich at the Emirates Stadium a fortnight ago with a 2-0 win, but manager Pep Guardiola insists his side are keen to make up for that disappointment in front of their home fans on Wednesday
Despite Arsenal FC’s impressive victory against Bayern Munich on Matchday 3 of the UEFA Champions League, little has changed in terms of the overall outlook for each of the four teams in Group F. The Gunners still face an uphill task to qualify for the next stage of the competition, particularly after Olympiakos’ win over Dinamo Zagreb away from home.
Meanwhile, Bayern Munich manager Pep Guardiola is hoping his side can bounce back from the defeat they suffered at the hands of Arsenal FC a fortnight ago in London. The Spaniard also revealed that he expected ArsA?ne Wenger’s side to resort to lumping the ball long to Frenchman Olivier Giroud when put under pressure.
Guardiola hoping to beat Arsenal FC in front of home support
Bayern Munich have made a stunning start to the season, with their only defeat so far coming against Arsenal FC on Matchday 3 of the Champions League. Manager Pep Guardiola will be hoping to avoid such slip-ups on Wednesday however, with three points all but guaranteeing their qualification to the next round.
Speaking at his pre-match press conference ahead of the game, Guardiola said (via uefa.com):
“They are one of Europe’s top sides. It is a new game after we lost in London. This is a match we want to win in front of our supporters. We have another 90 minutes to move closer to qualifying for the next round.”
“Arsenal will try long balls to Giroud”
The Bayern Munich manager was surprisingly forthcoming about his tactical plans ahead of the game, revealing that his side would press Arsenal FC high up the pitch to try and force centre-backs Per Mertesacker and Laurent Koscielny to try and play the ball long to French striker Olivier Giroud.
“Arsenal want to attack and build up but when you press Mertesacker and Koscielny, they dona t want to play,a Guardiola is quoted as saying by the Guardian. a They play long balls to Giroud. Also, if they lose the ball and we make two or three passes, Mertesacker doesna t want to stay high up, so they go back in their box and defend there.
a Arsenal will try long balls to Giroud. Cech will not play the ball to defenders, he will try long balls to Giroud. We have to defend well and be ready for that.”