Bayern Munich boss Thomas Tuchel believes the club’s history in the Champions League gives them a “slight advantage” over Arsenal.
The two sides meet for an 8pm BST kickoff at the Allianz Arena on Wednesday for the second leg of their quarter-final tie, after drawing the first leg 2-2 in north London.
The Gunners were the favourites to advance to the last four of the competition ahead of last week’s meeting, but Bayern are now marginally favoured by bookmakers to win the tie at home.
Arsenal have never won the Champions League, while Bayern have lifted the trophy on six previous occasions. Many members of the current squad were involved when they last won it in 2020 – something Tuchel believes will work in their favour.
“We have a slight advantage in our team that have won this competition. To make it an advantage we still have to bring out the best of us,” said Tuchel in his pre-match press conference.
“Sometimes it can still be an advantage to be the contender and a hunter. Arsenal want to be the guys to do it after so long.
“It’s not usual for us to be in the semi-finals if you look at the last few years.
“Now the situation is here where we have 90 or 120 minutes to go and one decisive match to make this big step in this beautiful competition.
“We are determined to bring everything to the table and we’ll see if an extra five percent experience helps us.”
Bayern have traditionally gotten the better of Arsenal over years, winning seven of their meetings and losing three.
The Gunners last beat the German outfit in the Champions League group stage in 2015, but lost the return fixture 5-1. They proceeded to lose their next two encounters by the same scoreline in the round of 16 in 2017.
