Arsenal handed boost as Bayern Munich boss Thomas Tuchel confirms 5 key players are set to miss Bundesliga clash ahead of UCL tie
On April 9, Arsenal will take on Bayern Munich in the first leg of the quarter-final of the UEFA Champions League.
At this crucial stage of the season, Bayern boss Thomas Tuchel has confirmed that five key players will likely not feature in the upcoming clash against the Gunners.
Bayern Munich are currently second in the Bundesliga with 60 points in 27 matches. In their last five matches, they have one draw, one loss, and three wins. They face Heidenheim in the league on April 6.
The former Chelsea manager revealed that Manuel Neuer, Kingsley Coman, Leroy Sane, Aleks Pavlovic, and Nous Mazraoui will miss Saturday's fixture and might not be available for the upcoming UEFA Champions League match too. Tuchel said:
“Manuel Neuer, Kingsley Coman, Leroy Sané, Aleks Pavlović (ill), and Nous Mazraoui are not in the squad tomorrow. Raphael Guerreiro is back in the squad. The problem is that all five players are out not because of rest, but all have problems. Therefore they are a doubt for Arsenal as well."
Elaborating on the various injuries, the Bayern Munich manager, who will be leaving the club come the end of the season, said:
“The main problem with Leroy is his pubic bone. With Kingsley it’s muscular. He had muscular problems after the game against Dortmund. The injury situation this season is crazy."
Thomas Tuchel added:
"I had a few ideas in the past weeks on how we want to play against Arsenal and things we could have tried in the past few games – but we’re missing players all the time who play an important role in these plans. It starts with Manu up to the wingers. We’ll probably try to get players who didn’t play much recently into a rhythm tomorrow to see who’s ready."
Bayern Munich are 13 points behind table-toppers Bayer Leverkusen in the Bundesliga with only seven matches left to play. Their best shot at silverware this season is the Champions League. However, with all the injuries, and consdiering Arsenal's current form, this will be a tall order.
How are Arsenal performing in the Premier League?
Arsenal are currently second in the Premier League with 68 points from 30 games, two points behind Liverpool. They face Brighton & Hove Albion on April 6 while the Reds travel to Old Trafford to face Manchester United on April 7. Their other title rivals, Manchester City (67 points), will square off against Crystal Palace on Saturday.
The Gunners currently have two players injured — Dutch defender Jurrien Timber and English winger Bukayo Saka. However, both players are expected to return soon.
Arsenal last met Bayern Munich in the Round of 16 of the 2016–17 UEFA Champions League, which ended in a disappointing 10-2 aggregate loss for the Gunners.