Nottingham Forest FC v Arsenal FC - Premier League 2026/27
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CSmith1919 Chuck Smith is the site manager for Bavarian Football Works, where he began writing in 2017. He is the author of The Daily Schmankerl, the longest-running daily Bayern Munich column in English, and also writes The Weekend Warm-Up. In addition to covering Bayern Munich news and providing commentary on Bayern Munich, the Bundesliga, and the German national team. He brings more than 30 years of sports-writing experience to the site. Over the course of his career, he has written for numerous newspapers and websites.
Arsenal head coach Mikel Arteta is relishing the opportunity to take on Bayern Munich in the Champions League, making it clear that his team will travel to the Allianz Arena on Wednesday with one objective: winning the game.
Arteta spoke enthusiastically about the challenge ahead, praising the occasion, the opposition, and the opportunity to compete against one of Europe’s elite clubs.
“I’m really looking forward to the game. This is the stage,the kind of team, the kind of coach, the kind of club, stadium that you want to be involved in. We’ve prepared for the game with loads of enthusiasm. We’ll try to come here and win the game tomorrow,” Arteta said (as captured by @iMiaSanMia).
Arsenal will face Bayern without Michael Olise, but Arteta was reluctant to describe the Frenchman’s absence as a significant advantage. Instead, he emphasized the quality of Bayern’s overall squad and the threat posed by Vincent Kompany’s team.
“You want to face the best players in these kind of games, and he’s out. But when you look at their squad and the possible starting 11 that they have, first of all, as a team, how incredibly well-coached they are, the mindset that they have, the conviction that they have in every action,” Arteta said.
He also highlighted Bayern Munich’s ability to create dangerous moments through individual quality, adding that Arsenal would need to confront the challengehead-on.
Arteta also expressed hope that Kompany would recover from his illness in time to take charge of Wednesday’s match, describing himself as a huge admirer of the Bayern coach.
“I’m a huge admirer of him, first as a person because I got to work with him for a few years. And then as a coach, in Belgium, in Burnley and what he’s done here—the identity and quality that his team has been showing for the past few years is on another level. Big creditto him,” Arteta said.
The mutual respect between the two coaches is evident. However, with both sides eager to make a statement in Europe, the focus will soon shift from compliments to the battle on the pitch.
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