Dec 13 (Reuters) - Arsene Wenger feels
guilty about Arsenal's Champions League failures and the Frenchmen is
hoping a quote from the bible can act as inspiration when they face
Bayern Munich in the round of 16.
Arsenal
will aim to reach the quarter-finals for a first time in seven seasons
when they face Bayern in February and March, having lost twice to the
Germans and Barcelona, and once each to AC Milan and Monaco in their
last six campaigns.
"We are
all here to change history and to make history, so we have to change
what happened before and make it better," the Arsenal manager told
British media.
"Look, the
last six years we have not come past the last 16. They said that God
made the world in seven days and this is the seventh day for us! So we
have to get a special day."
Arsenal
hoped to avoid a European heavyweight after topping their group but
were pitted against Bayern for the fourth time in five seasons when the
draw was made on Monday.
"I
am responsible for the results so I don't want to escape when I don't
meet the expectations of people who love this club," Wenger added.
"You feel guilty because you always question yourself first and your decision making. I think that's completely normal."
Despite
Bayern's superior head-to-head record against Arsenal in recent
seasons, assistant manager Paul Clement said he expected a tougher test
but felt the hectic festive schedule will be the undoing of the English
Premier League club.
"Arsenal
have got great players throughout... But we have a lot of very good
offensive players too, so it'll be a very interesting tie. It's the
biggest game of the round, for me," Clement told Talksport radio.
"Bayern
have had the upper hand against Arsenal recently, but this is a totally
different season. It will be interesting going into February what the
momentum of the two teams is -- that's important.
"Arsenal
are going to have a busy winter period and we have a four-week winter
break, so hopefully we will be able to take advantage of that."
(Reporting by Shravanth Vijayakumar in Bengaluru; Editing by John
O'Brien)
1 comments:
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