Arsene Wenger coach of the British soccer club Arsenal London smiles during a news conference at Munich's airport, February 21, 2005. Arsenal London will play soccer club Bayern Munich in a Champions League Group C match on Tuesday.
Photo: REUTERS/Michaela Rehle
The England football club Arsenal will play against the German football club Bayern Munich in the last 16 tie of UEFA Champions League on Tuesday, February 21, 2005. Arsene Wenger, the coach of Arsenal made his mind not to train his team at Munich Olympic stadium before the match.
“It’s normal for us not to practice on the away pitch.” Wenger said at Munich airport on Monday. “There are always spies, sitting in the corner and watching what you do. You never get any privacy.”
Wenger has serious problems of injury and sickness. England defender Sol Campbell is out of the list due to ankle injury, and his national teammate Ashely Cole, the left-back was laid on the bed for almost a week with a severe flu. Wenger admitted, “Cole has not fully recovered. He should be fine by the weekend but we are not yet completely confident that he can play in the Champions League game.”
In order to solve these disturbances, Wenger tried to put Freddie Ljungberg to the front-line. The Sweden player usually plays the role of midfield with Dennis Bergkamp, who is not part of the squad because three-match bans judged by the Football Association. Bergkamp was sent off by referee in the fifth round of FA Cup last Saturday. Arsenal still appeal the judgment for the Dutchman, “Bergkamp didn’t hit or push the Sheffield’s Danny Cullip,” said Wenger.
The Arsenal coach also worried about the bad weather in Munich. “It is a concern. If the pitch were frozen then it would be a problem for us as we are not used to it. But there is under-soil heating so it should hopefully be a normal pitch.”
Bayern Munich, the rival of Arsenal, beat Borussia Dortmund by 5-0 in Bundesliga last Saturday. The Dutch striker Roy Makaay scored a hat-trick for Bayern. Wenger explained, “The powerful club such as Bayern Munich has a lot of players, who can score. For Arsenal, the most important thing is avoiding their midfield players pass balls to Makaay or other forwards. We have to try our best to defend.”
Wenger also confessed, “Bayern has lots of experiences in the Champions League and been crowned European champions four times. It will be a very difficult team to play against.”
Arsenal has a poor record in Europe. Gunners only reach the quarterfinals last season, before being eliminated by Chelsea, the champion in England Premiership up to now. The Frenchman Wenger still has confidence with his players although the condition of the competition is tough. “We will give you the answer Tuesday night.” said Wenger.
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