Publications
Partners
Cape Town - Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger might have unintentionally given the impression that their last-16 clash against Bayern Munich would be a "day of rest" when he meant anything but that.
"Look, the last six years we have not come over the last 16," Wenger told the Guardian.
"They say that God made the world in seven days and this is the seventh day for us," he said, apparently unaware that according to Genesis God rested on the seventh day after six days of making everything.
"So we have to get a special day. We are all here to make history, so we have to change what happened before and make it better," Wenger said.
The Gunners are to repeat their last-16 ties from 2013 and 2014 against the German giants, with neither of those results boding well for February and March, when the knockout, home-and-away series is to be played.
"The best way to have a momentum when we go into the Champions League is to be in a good position in the league, so the belief is high.
"I am convinced that is absolutely vital because I have had experience of it. If we can keep our strength away from home, that can help us. Let’s have a good first game then we can finish the job at home."
Arsenal topped the Champions League group to give them home advantage in the second-leg fixture, and general secretary David Miles explained why he was optimistic this year might be different from previous seasons.
He told BT Sport 2: "We thought it (the draw against Bayern) might happen; we've played them five or six times in the last 15 years.
"The fans will think we've got the rough end of the draw again, but at some stage the tide's got to turn, so why not this time?
"Hopefully we can get some of our injured players back and the home game in the second leg will be vital for us. We're going to be upbeat and positive."
