On Tuesday night, Bayern Munich will head to North London to take on Arsenal and if the Gunners want to win the first leg of their UCL QF then they will have to find a way to stop Harry Kane.
Bayern has been in shambles this season as they are 16 points away from the top of the Bundesliga table and they have lost their previous two league games. Tuchel is clueless about what is happening and at the weekend, the Bavarians let a 2-0 lead slip to allow FC Heidenheim to win the game 3-2.
Leverkusen are on the brink of lifting the German league title and in such a scenario, Bayern have only the Champions League to focus on. Tuchel has several problems going into this quarter-final game but scoring goals isn’t one of them, courtesy of Harry Kane.
Arsenal know fully well the threat Kane possesses in and around the penalty area but even then, Martin Odegaard has refused to make too much of a fuss about the England international.
“I think we should respect him, but I don’t think we should fear anyone,” Odegaard said(h/t 90Min). “And we should focus on ourselves and the quality we have in our team, and that is all.
“[Kane is] a good player, of course, and I have played against him a few times and we know the quality he has in the box and he is also good in the link-up [play]. We are facing a good team on Tuesday.”
The Arsenal manager in his press conference has refused to single out Harry Kane as the only threat when the Bavarians come to town.
Arteta has claimed: “Hopefully not![his record against Arsenal won’t be a risk].
“It’s not only him! I think that the individuals that they have, all the individual qualities of all those players and him in particular, and the ability that he has. The best thing to do is what we do collectively and try to promote certain things.”
Bayern Munich are a mess under Thomas Tuchel but Harry Kane is the trump card for the manager and if Arsenal fail to control him then the Bavarians can easily come out on top.
Harry Kane has faced Arsenal 19 times when he was playing for Tottenham and the striker has found the back of the 14 times plus he’s also provided three assists. Everyone thought the 30-year-old would take time to settle down in Germany but Kane has had an immediate impact, scoring 32 league goals in 28 appearances so far this campaign.
In 2438 minutes of Bundesliga football, Kane has an xG of 27.04 and an xA of 5.28. He’s had 57 shots on target out of which he’s scored 32 times and that’s just an insane conversion rate.
William Saliba and Gabriel have been in top form themselves and thanks to them, Arsenal currently have the best defence in the Premier League. The pair have leaked only 24 goals in the league so far and if they can replicate their performance against Erling Haaland from a few weeks back then Harry Kane won’t be able to do much.
In the 0-0 draw vs Man City, Saliba and Gabriel neutralised Haaland perfectly as the Norwegian had zero shots on target but we doubt if they can achieve the same against Harry Kane.
Haaland is a beast in front of goal but his overall play is very basic which was a big positive for the Gunners defence. However, Kane is a top overall performer whose hold-up and linking play are world-class and perfectly complement his goal-scoring prowess.
The England international will be partnered by Jamal Musiala and Gnabry, both of whom are blessed with pace and trickery. Singularly, Arsenal have what it takes to stop Harry Kane but if the forward can link up with the other Bayern attackers then it will be a nightmare 90 minutes for the Gunners backline.
Stats via Whoscored.
