Harry Kane has revealed his burning desire to knock Arsenal out and win the UEFA Champions League with Bayern Munich.
Recall that Arsenal and Bayern were in action in the Champions League quarter-final at the Emirates Stadium on Tuesday, April 9, and the game resulted in a 2-2 draw leaving the two teams with much work to do to qualify for the next round of the tournament.
The former Tottenham striker gave the German powerhouse the lead in the first leg after Serge Gnabry netted the equalizer following Bukayo Saka’s opener but the Gunners got back on track in the second half through Leandro Trossard’s strike.
Harry Kane is one player with plenty of experience in terms of European League football, with 28 goals to his name. Ahead of the second leg of the tie, the 30-year-old has asked his side to end the Gunners’ Champions League trophy hope.
England captain Kane said reaching the final with Tottenham Hotspur in 2019 has given him greater motivation to go one step further with Bayern Munich this season.
Tottenham lost to Liverpool in an all-English final in 2019, but Kane says beating his old rivals Arsenal in the quarter-finals is a huge driving force on the way to achieving European glory at Wembley Stadium.
Speaking ahead of Bayern’s clash with Arsenal, Harry Kane said: “Yeah, for sure, whenever you reach the final of a competition and don’t quite get over the line there’s always that burning fire inside you to get back there and go that one step further.”
“We have an opportunity this year and with a big moment on Wednesday and if we can take that step then we’re only a couple of games away from trying to get to Wembley.”
“It’s still in the distance at the moment, it may come around quickly but all my focus is on tomorrow and that’s all I can do.”
He added; “All I can do is to put in my best performance, help the team’s best performance, and then step by step we can try and reach our goals.”
Bayern drew 2-2 at the Emirates Stadium last week and Kane extended his remarkable scoring record to 15 goals in 20 games against Arsenal.
Thomas Tuchle claims Bayern Munich have an advantage over Arsenal ahead of their clash in the Champions League
Bayern Munich boss, Thomas Tuchel has said his side have an advantage over the Gunners ahead of their Champions League clash on Wednesday, April 17.
Bayern’s squad contains eight players who have won the competition at least once before, and 14 players who have reached at least the semi-final stage.
However, by way of comparison, just two of the Arsenal starting XI from their first leg contest at the Emirates Stadium had even played a Champions League quarter-final before.
That inexperience speaks in the first leg as Mikel Arteta’s side gifted Bayern two goals after a superb start had seen them go 1-0 up.
Tuchel feels this mentality could give his side the edge, but has admitted that it will mean nothing if Bayern are not at their best on Wednesday night.
During his press conference, Tuchel said; “I think we have the slight advantage of experience in our team.”
“We have players who have won it, we have players who have played decisive matches in this competition. But to make it an advantage, we still have to bring out our very best.”
He added; “It can also sometimes be an advantage not to have the experience and have the role as contenders, the role as a hunter. That can be a theme for Arsenal. To go for it after so many years.”
If Bayern put out Arsenal and then Bayer Leverkusen knock out West Ham in the Europa League, it would go a long way to guaranteeing Germany get the extra Champions League place over the Premier League.
What is next?
It remains to be seen which of the two teams will progress to the semifinals when Bayern Munich lock horns against Arsenal at the Allianz Arena on Wednesday night at 8:00 WAT.
