Lahm was utterly disinterested in Mertesacker’s wry comments that the Bundesliga champions were a ‘wounded’ team and reminded the Arsenal skipper which team topped the group
Bayern Munich’s captain Philipp Lahm has bristled at the suggestion of his former international team-mate, Arsenal skipper Per Mertesacker, that the Bundesliga champions may be “wounded” going into their crunch Champions League match this week.
Arsenal stunned the European giants when they completed a smash and grab 2-0 win at the Emirates, courtesy of late goals from Olivier Giroud and Mesut Ozil.
Heading into the second match between the two heavyweights, Mertesacker suggested that following the defeat, as well as a lacklustre 0-0 draw against Eintracht Frankfurt (the first time that Munich have dropped points in their opening 11 games of the Bundesliga), the German team may not be at the very top of their game.
However, in his pre-match press conference, Lahm comprehensively dismissed such a suggestion.
“No,” Lahm simply said, when asked if he agreed with Mertesacker’s comments, as reported by German publication The Local. “”Why should we be wounded? We’re focused. We have no reason to be wounded.
“We are top of the Bundesliga and our Champions League group, you can’t get much better than that. So we weren’t wounded after the away defeat.”
A steely faced Lahm also rejected the notion that Bayern Munich were a team with revenge fixed squarely on their minds.
“We don’t need any extra motivation for the Arsenal game,” he added.
“This is the Champions League, we’re playing at home and anyone who isn’t motivated is in the wrong place.”
Despite their heroics at the Emirates, it is undoubtedly Arsenal who most require the three points on offer, after shock defeats to Dinamo Zagreb and Olympiacos.
A win would however take them level on points with Pep Guardiola’s team, with the same number of games against the same two opponents remaining.
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