Only Ribery, Lahm and Neuer are irreplaceable at Bayern – Breitner

The 62-year-old believes Pep Guardiola’s side are blessed with unrivalled strength in depth and is confident of overcoming Arsenal

Former Bayern Munich midfielder Paul Breitner believes that only three players at the club – Philipp Lahm, Manuel Neuer and Franck Ribery – are guaranteed a first-team spot.

The futures of Toni Kroos and Mario Mandzukic, who were both key in last season’s treble win, have come into question in recent weeks due to the midfielder’s contract wrangle and the Croatian’s recent omission from the first team.

Breitner believes the Bavarians have the strength in depth to cope without either player, and feels even the loss of Ribery – who will miss the Champions League clash with Arsenal this week due to injury – can be made easier by the quality at Pep Guardiola’s disposal.

“We don’t only have the best team in the world, we also have the best squad in the world,” he told Welt.

“Almost every player can be replaced. Only Neuer, Ribery and Lahm are irreplaceable. We have so many option, especially in attack, so there are many solutions to offset the loss of Ribery.”

Both Lahm and Guardiola have been very vocal in their praise of Arsenal but Breitner is adamant that Bayern are overwhelming favourites for the clash.

“We have a team who are clearly better than Arsenal. If Bayern are playing at 90 per cent, Arsenal will not be a stumbling block,” he said.

“Since I’m at Bayern, I’m not interested in Arsenal or Barcelona. We are only interested in bringing our own strengths to the pitch.

“In normal form, Bayern are the best team out there. But that doesn’t mean we are underestimating Arsenal.”

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