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Arsenal vice-captain Per Mertesacker has backed the Gunners to shine in their upcoming match against Bayern Munich and save their Champions League campaign.
Arsene Wenger’s side face the daunting possibility of an early exit from Europe’s finest competition at the group stage, following two opening defeats against Dinamo Zagreb and Olympiakos.
Those losses mean Arsenal head into a double-header against back-to-back Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich needing a result, a task that’s made even more difficult by the fact the Bavarians are yet to lose this season.
However, quoted by The Daily Mail, Mertesacker is confident that the Gunners can pull-off the results they need and turn their European campaign around.
‘We are pleased that we have [won] after the Champions League debacle, and you could see how much the team wanted to respond,’
‘As a team you try and remind yourself of what you can achieve and you could see that we have a lot of confidence. I hope that we can display that again in two weeks.’
‘(Their strength) is pretty clear and is evidence of how dominant Bayern are and what a great team they have,’
‘We will still play them twice. We have to play a very, very good opponent and I am curious. We can look forward to playing against a team like that.’
Unlike many of his team-mates, Mertesacker will be staying at home during the international break as he has retired from national duty. Other members of the defence, including Mathieu Debuchy and Nacho Monreal, have also stayed behind.
The Gunners do see a number of their defensive men away over the following two weeks though, as Gabriel Paulista is with Brazil whilst Hector Bellerin and Calum Chambers are with their respective national sides.
Arsenal host Bayern Munich on the 20th October, with the return leg in Germany falling just over two weeks later on the 4th November.
