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Arsenal Women Face Bayern Munich in UWCL Quarter-Finals
Bavarians in blistering form
Standing in our way is a Bayern Munich team in blistering form. They are unbeaten since October in all competitions and have only dropped points in the Champions League so far against Spanish giants Barcelona.
Stanway and the Bayern midfield
Alongside her seven-year stint at WSL rivals Manchester City, those who followed Euro 2022 will know the Lionesses’ Georgia Stanway for breaking Spanish hearts with a wonder goal in the quarter-finals. Stanway has adapted to life in the Frauen-Bundesliga incredibly well in her debut season and is currently Bayern’s top provider of assists in the Champions League. Alongside Austria’s Sarah Zadrazil and captain Lina Magull, our Gunners face a fearsome midfield on Tuesday evening. Meanwhile, leading the line is prolific goalscorer Lea Schüller, who has bagged nine goals so far in the league.
Bavarians respect Arsenal
“We’re playing against a team that has good momentum. So both teams will come in with a lot of belief and a lot of self-confidence in their game plans. Hopefully, that will be really good for the audience and also really good for us.”
Straus on us: “Arsenal are a very similar team to us. They have a lot of individual quality. They’re dynamic and work very well defensively. We’ll get our openings and opportunities tomorrow. They’re a top-quality team who we respect, but they also have respect for us.”
Bavarian absentees and previous meetings
On Bayern’s side, German internationals Giulia Gwinn and Linda Dallmann will both be absent through injury. Brazilian defender Tainara also misses out. This quarter-final will mark the first competitive match between Arsenal Women and Bayern Munich. However, we have met the German side once before back in 2019, hosting Bayern for the invitational Emirates Cup.
Kick-off time and how to watch
We kick off in Munich at the Allianz Arena at 5.45pm (UK). All UWCL fixtures are free to stream on DAZN’s Youtube channel wherever you are in the world.
Manager discusses Bayern and squad momentum
Our head coach fielded questions from the media on our German opponents, the short break ahead of the game, and the positive momentum within our squad.
“I have more information than some people. So when I put everything together, this was the best decision for the team. That doesn’t mean it was easy. Gio definitely has a lot of qualities that we could have needed in a game like this. So that was tough, but the best for the team was to register these three players.
“Yeah, I thought that game was really good. I think our performances after that against Liverpool and Reading have also shown that we’re a team that’s in a good place right now. I don’t know if that’s good or bad, but I felt with the preparation here for Bayern Munich, I have had a feeling of sharing less information with the players because I’m more assured that we already know what to do in those situations.
“Of course, the only way to develop quality is by spending time on something. If you’re gonna have shared understanding and shared experiences, you have to live through things together. I can’t really see there being any shortcuts for that. I think all the things that we have gone through over the last 18 months have been increased by our really hectic schedules.
“I saw yesterday that Carla Ward had her 50th competitive game for Aston Villa and I believe my 50th game here was this autumn. It just shows the differences in the playing schedule. She has spent more time at Aston Villa, one of our competitors in the WSL, but it’s still such a massive difference in the number of games that the two clubs play. Of course, that also gives more opportunities for shared experiences.
“We’re playing against a team that also has good momentum. So I hope that will make for a really, really interesting matchup with two teams that come in with a lot of belief and a lot of self-confidence in their game plans. Hopefully, that will be really good for the audience and also really good for us.”
Credit: https://www.arsenal.com/news/uwcl-preview-bayern-munich-v-arsenal-women
