Mikel Arteta insists Arsenal are not afraid of Harry Kane and that his players will be prepared to keep him quiet when Bayern Munich visit the Emirates on Wednesday.
Kane has enjoyed a prolific spell since leaving Spurs, scoring 109 goals in 114 appearances for Bayern, including 24 in 18 games this season. He also has an impressive personal record against Arsenal, with 15 goals in 21 matches. His penalty on his last visit — in the 2024 Champions League quarter-final — was his sixth goal at the Emirates, more than any other visiting player.
Asked if he feared the striker, Arteta said: “I wouldn’t use that word. I admire what he has done and what he continues to do. That level of consistency, especially, demanding to score goals at the level with his country, with any team he’s been involved with, is incredible, so big credit to him.”
Wednesday’s fixture pits the two group leaders against each other — both Arsenal and Bayern have won all four of their Champions League games so far.
Kane acknowledged that facing Arsenal now feels different since his move to Bayern but said he still wants a win at the Emirates. “With Tottenham, it was always one of the biggest games of the season against Arsenal,” he said. “I have friends who are fans of both teams. It’s not quite the same with Bayern as we don’t always play against each other — we got an important win against them in the quarter-finals two years ago. I’ve scored a lot of goals here in this stadium — but haven’t won many games. I hope we can change that.”
He added that Arsenal have become more solid and experienced, especially defensively and in set-piece situations. “They’ve become more solid, they have more experience — but they play similarly to how they did back then; defensively, their structure is better. They’ve gained experience in the Champions League, which has made them better and helped them grow. That’s why they’re in the position they’re in right now. It will be a good test for us. Arsenal have done well so far in that department [set-pieces]. We’ve prepared for Arsenal as usual. The best thing will be to not give them any set pieces, to control the game — and we need to defend better than we have recently when we do concede set pieces.”
Defender Jurrien Timber conceded stopping Bayern and Kane will be tough but stressed Arsenal’s collective effort. He pointed to Eberechi Eze’s hat-trick against Spurs as an example of the team’s work off the ball. “That’s not going to be easy of course. I think it also comes from the clean sheets we were having, but it is not just about the defenders. Look at Eze’s performance against Spurs. He scored three goals but defensively he was amazing. It’s the whole team trying to step up and do a bit more. It’s about the whole team taking on the responsibility and stepping up.”
On Kane, Timber added: “He’s an amazing striker and everyone knows that. He’s got so many qualities and has been doing it for such a long time. At Bayern, he is also being one of the best players in the world. It’s going to be a nice challenge for us as a team and as defenders to stop him tomorrow.”
Arsenal are hopeful Martin Ødegaard will be available after a knee injury suffered against Bayern. Noni Madueke and Gabriel Martinelli are in contention to start after being on the bench against Spurs. Viktor Gyökeres and Kai Havertz are not expected to be available for the midweek match but could be back in contention for Sunday’s Premier League game against Chelsea.