Football
Mark Lovell, Bayern Munich blogger 7y

Arsenal capable of beating Bayern Munich in UCL - Shkodran Mustafi

Shkodran Mustafi believes Arsenal can beat Bayern Munich "if they play to their potential" in their Champions League round-of-16 tie in Munich on Wednesday.

Mustafi, a World Cup winner with Germany in 2014, told Sky Sports News Deutschland: "We know that Bayern will be a difficult game, but we also know that if we play to our potential we can beat Bayern."

Mustafi, 24, had a brief spell on trial with the German champions as a youngster, but opted to join Hamburg instead. Following spells at Everton and Sampdoria, Arsenal secured the central defender's services last summer from Valencia for a reported fee of €41 million.

He said: "Of course, Bayern is a massive team to face, but we now all about this from Premier League games against teams like Liverpool, Chelsea, Manchester City and Manchester United.

"These are always big clubs with hugely talented players and games between two evenly-matched sides. The small details decide whether you win or lose."

Arsenal travel to the Bavarian capital to renew a rivalry that has already seen 10 Champions League meetings since the turn of the century. It is the fourth clash of the two sides at this stage of the competition and Bayern have progressed to the quarterfinals on each previous occasion in 2004-5, 2012-13 and 2013-14.

"It's the first time for me, but I know that Bayern have regularly knocked out Arsenal in recent years," Mustafi said.

"Like I said, I'm convinced our team can beat Bayern if we play to our potential. It's up to us, that's what makes me so positive about the tie. We're not a team saying we hope Bayern has a bad day, but we are saying we hope we have a good day, because we know what we are capable of.

"Ultimately, in games between two evenly-matched sides, it will come down to the minor details, how you play, how you read the game, every individual player's form on the day.

"It's very important when you can decide your own fate."

^ Back to Top ^