Mancienne can’t see how Arsenal will beat a team ‘too good for the Bundesliga’

 
Tom Collomosse19 February 2013

Hamburg’s Michael Mancienne has seen Bayern at close quarters this season and fears Arsenal can do little to stop the German giants in the Champions League last-16 tie. Here, the former Chelsea defender gives his assessment ahead of tonight’s big match at the Emirates Stadium.

WHY ARE BAYERN SO STRONG?

They have so much strength in depth. Just look at the strikers they have. Mario Mandzukic, Mario Gomez, Thomas Muller, Claudio Pizarro — it’s ridiculous. They’re the best team here by a mile and even though there are plenty of good sides in Germany, as you’ve seen in the Champions League this season, it’s almost as though Bayern are too good for the Bundesliga. Borussia Dortmund and Bayer Leverkusen can give them a game but Bayern are still 15 points clear. They did so well to get to the final of the Champions League last season and their squad has improved a lot since then, so I see them as potential winners of the tournament.

WHO ARE THE MAIN DANGERS TO ARSENAL?

I was marking Mandzukic when Bayern beat us 3-0 in Hamburg in November and as a centre-forward, he has everything. He is big, he’s strong, he holds the ball up well and he’s good in the air. He’s also such a clever striker that if you don’t concentrate for a split second, he

will be away from you, but he’s also a real hard worker who is always on the move. If he’s on his game tonight, he can cause Arsenal a lot of problems.

In central midfield, Bastian Schweinsteiger is an outstanding player. I’m not sure who will start in the wide positions but if they choose Franck Ribery and Arjen Robben, they will be a pain throughout the game. If you give them an opportunity to hurt you, there is every chance they will take it.

WHERE CAN ARSENAL HURT BAYERN?

I’d like to see Arsenal win the game as I always support the English teams in Europe but against such a strong side, it is going to be very difficult for them.

The one area where they might get some joy, though, is on the counter-attack. Bayern alway throw a lot of men forward when they’re attacking, which means they can threaten from everywhere but Arsenal play such good football and there is definitely the potential to punish them on the counter-attack.

If Robben and Ribery play, they don’t always track all the way back, so maybe Arsenal could catch them off guard. Their best chance could be to try to stop Bayern scoring tonight and then look to exploit the extra space in the return game.

ENGLAND Versus GERMANY?

I can certainly see German clubs outperforming English ones in the Champions League this season. Dortmund have been superb in the competition and they can certainly go further, while the game between Schalke and Galatasaray looks an even one.

We’ve discussed how difficult it will be for Arsenal and Manchester United have their work cut out, too, to knock out Real Madrid at this stage. I hope Hamburg can be involved next year. We’re sixth in the table and I hope I can recover from this ankle injury in time to help us push for a top-four finish over the rest of the season.

I’ve been out since mid-January and, while I’m now back on the treadmill, I’ve still not been able to join in full training sessions with my team-mates.

But we’ve been in good form recently, winning 4-1 at Dortmund earlier this month, and I’m desperate to get back in action and help the team move closer to the Champions League places.

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