Bayern Munich may have a history of premature triumphalism against English clubs – Mario Basler’s applause to the fans with Bayern 1-0 up in Barcelona in 1999 lingers in the memory – but nobody could accuse Pep Guardiola of taking Arsenal lightly before Tuesday night’s Champions League match at the Emirates. Despite Bayern coming to London with a six-point lead in Group F, Guardiola insisted Arsenal’s sheer desperation to win would give them the early impetus.
“In this situation, they have the advantage,” Bayern’s coach said. “They have to win. When that happens with these kind of players they are going to make the best performance possible. I cannot expect a team that doesn’t fight for 90 minutes.
“It’s the last chance. In life when you have the last chance you give absolutely everything, and we have to be prepared for that against Arsenal.”
Earlier in the day Arsène Wenger had spoken of his respect for his opposite number, albeit with a slightly pointed declaration of support for any manager with the conviction to send out an offensively minded team in a results-oriented game. Guardiola was similarly appreciative of Wenger, albeit with the reservation that he could never imagine himself spending two decades at the same club.
“Twenty years at one club is now impossible,” he said. “Nobody has that energy any more. It can get boring for the people; Arsène is an exception, like Ferguson was. Wenger is not only a manager, he is a sporting director. He changed the club. They played defensively before he came. Wenger is more than just a manager for this club. He is almost everything. He can be at a club for longer. Me: no!”
Bayern’s chief conductor in midfield at the Emirates will be Xabi Alonso, a man old enough to have played in England when Tuesday’s opponents were last league champions. Much has been made of Arsenal’s lack of focus in the Champions League this year, and of English clubs’ mid-season weariness generally. Asked if his own career had been prolonged by leaving the Premier League Alonso answered with a knowing laugh.
“I will never know that … Every country, every league is difficult. But we know how demanding it is in the Premier League, there’s no doubt about that: so many games, so much intensity, no break in the winter. But at the moment I enjoy my winter break here in Bayern. It’s quite a nice one. It’s a fact that the Premier League is a very demanding competition.”
