Ahead Of Munich's Match In The Champions League, Jesus: Arsenal Are Not Children Anymore

JAKARTA - Gabriel Jesus warned Bayern Munich that Arsenal "not children anymore" and vice versa are eager to end a 15-year wait to reach the semi-finals of the Champions League.

Arsenal will host Bayern in the first leg of the quarter-finals at the Emirates Stadium on Wednesday morning after re-entering the Champions League since 2010.

After that they lost seven times in a row in the round of 16, including three defeats to their opponents in the Bundesliga.

After five years of only being able to try out the Europa League, Arsenal are back in the Champions League this season.

Now they face Bayern who are the favorites to win, but have different fates in their respective domestic leagues.

If Arsenal have the opportunity to win the league this season, then Bayern will most likely have to lose their first league title since 2012.

Jesus is one of the few Arsenal players to experience in this highest-level competition after winning four league titles and reaching the 2021 Champions League final with Manchester City.

But he believes Mikel Arteta's young squad is ready to take the steps even further.

"All players have played in the biggest football events, whether it's the World Cup, Premier League, and now the Champions League. So I think all players are ready to support Arsenal," Jesus said as quoted by the ESPN website on Tuesday.

"I think we trust more as a team, as a unit. Last season we played amazingly in the first half of the season, until January. And then after that we started a bit of trouble. This season is the opposite," he continued.

"Now we are better prepared, more confident, more mature," concluded Jesus.