Arsenal’s Many Injuries Helped Bayern – Guardiola

Bayern Munich coach Pep Guardiola believes Arsenal’s injury problems made it easier for his side
in their 5-1 Champions League win on Wednesday. Bayern ran riot against the Gunners at the Allianz Arena and were widely praised for their display, with German media commenting that the Bavarians are currently playing in “a world of their own.”
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However, speaking at a news conference prior to
Bayern’s Bundesliga clash against Stuttgart on Saturday, Guardiola said the display against Arsenal was not quite a Champions League-winning performance.
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“We played really, really well against Arsenal in the first 35 minutes,” said Guardiola, who again refused
to talk about his future. “That’s not enough to win the Champions League.”
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“We should not forget that Arsenal fielded a side similar to that of ours last season,” Guardiola added, referring to Bayern’s struggles with injury towards the end of last term.
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The Bavarians were without key players including Franck Ribery, Arjen Robben and David Alaba as they crashed out of the Champions League and DFB Pokal semifinals.
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“Arsenal were without several injured players,” Guardiola said, before running through Arsene Wenger’s absentees.
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Guardiola added: “We need to continue to work hard, we are still developing. We need to pass the ball, and play the vertical ball at exactly the right time. We have to continue to get better. We need more control.
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We have to avoid the counter-attacks.”