Arsenal’s sporting director Edu has welcomed the prospect of facing Bayern Munich in the Champions League quarter-finals next month.
The Gunners booked their place in the last eight of the competition courtesy of a hard fought victory over Porto. Having been dealt a sucker punch with a late Galeno goal in the first leg, Mikel Arteta’s side were able to level the tie courtesy of a goal from Leandro Trossard at the Emirates. Even then, penalties were required to get past Porto, with David Raya proving to be the hero in the shootout.
That victory means that Arsenal have qualified for the Champions League quarter finals for the first time in 14 years. Edu feels this is where the club now has to aim to always be going forward.
“That’s the position that we have to be in always because of the size of the club and the way we are,” he said after the draw in Nyon. “We’ve just come back to where we belong to be fair.”
The Gunners will now face familiar opponents in Bayern. Since 2012 Arsenal have faced the German champions eight times. Despite the fact that their three most recent meetings ended in 5-1 defeats, Edu is still embracing the prospect of such a heavyweight clash.
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“It’s a beautiful game to play,” he said. “We are going to be playing against a team that are very experienced in the competition and the players that they have are amazing, but we have good momentum. We are really excited to face them and see if we can go through.
“The way the players and the team are performing is very exciting. We are playing at our best at the moment, so let’s carry on playing the way we are playing and see how far we can go.
“It’s a privilege to be here. There are a lot of big clubs here so we’ll have to do our very best to carry on in the competition. It’s the quarter-final of the Champions League, there will be a lot of fantastic players on the field and I’m sure it’ll be a great atmosphere in both stadiums. We’ll do our best and try to do everything to get through to the next phase.”
Should Arsenal get past Bayern then they will face the daunting prospect of either Manchester City or Real Madrid in the semi-finals. Between them the pair have won five of the last eight Champions Leagues, but Edu still is confident that Arsenal have a chance of going all the way in the competition despite a tough draw.
“Why not?” he said. “We have to dream because of the way we are playing and performing and the momentum we have at the moment. This is the position we have to always be in because of the size of the club and the way we are, and it feels like we’re back where we belong.”
