The Germany international has warned his side to remain focused ahead of Wednesday’s match rather than think about the upcoming quarter-final draw
EXCLUSIVE
By Fabio Porta
Toni Kroos has stressed that Bayern Munich cannot afford to underestimate Arsenal ahead of the second-leg of their Champions League round of 16 tie.
The Bundesliga leaders recorded a 3-1 win in the first leg at the Emirates Stadium back in February, but Kroos has warned that the tie is not decided just yet.
“We should not be talking about the draw for the quarter-finals yet. We have the return against Arsenal first. We will have to secure progress before we can think about the outcome of the draw.
“We have to be focused and cannot afford to underestimate Arsenal. They are a top team, as we all saw in the first leg. We have to put in another sovereign performance.
“So far strong teams such as Borussia Dortmund, Real Madrid and Juventus have qualified [for the quarter-finals], so we will face a difficult opponent either way.”
Meanwhile, Manuel Neuer has insisted, too, that Bayern will approach Wednesday’s encounter with the right attitude.
“We continue to give our all, also in the Champions League match versus Arsenal. We will approach the game with the right attitude again and want to emerge victorious. I hope we can keep a clean sheet this time.”
Wednesday’s match at the Allianz Arena is scheduled to kick off at 20:45CET.