Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard has told his team-mates that they must not fear Harry Kane ahead of their Champions League showdown with Bayern Munich.
The Gunners are hosting the German champions on Tuesday night at the Emirates Stadium in the first leg of their quarter-final tie.
Bayern have had a difficult season and are currently 16 points behind Bundesliga leaders Bayer Leverkusen with only six games left to go.
Despite Bayern’s ongoing struggles, which hit a new low on Saturday as Thomas Tuchel’s side blew a two-goal lead to lose 3-2 away at Heidenheim, Kane has had a brilliant debut campaign in Germany, scoring 38 goals since leaving Tottenham in the summer.
The England captain regularly tormented Arsenal when at Spurs and he is the all-time record goalscorer in north London derbies.
But asked if the Gunners should fear Kane in the Champions League, Odegaard said: “I think we should respect him, but I don’t think we should fear anyone.
“And we should focus on ourselves and the quality we have in our team, and that is all.
Arsenal and Martin Odegaard know the threat posed by Harry Kane all too well (Getty Images/Reuters)
“[Kane is] a good player, of course, and I have played against him a few times and we know the quality he has in the box and he is also good in the link-up [play]. We are facing a good team on Tuesday.”
Arsenal finished the weekend top of the Premier League table after they beat Brighton 3-0 on Saturday and Liverpool drew 2-2 with Manchester United at Old Trafford.
The Gunners had previously struggled at the Amex Stadium, but on Saturday put in a commanding performance that means they are still unbeaten in the Premier League since the turn of the year.
“It is a big win, a difficult place to come against a good team,” said Odegaard. “It was a very good and solid performance.”
