‘Don’t be afraid…’: Kai Havertz assures Mikel Arteta that they can beat Bayern Munich as he reveals Thomas Tuchel’s tactics and how they won the Champions League together at Chelsea

Kai Havertz responded to Thomas Müller on social media with seven words. The Bayern Munich ace made a video for his compatriot after it was announced that the two would meet in the Champions League quarter-finals.

Arsenal take on the Bundesliga champions at the Emirates Stadium on 9 April and then return to the Allianz Arena for the second leg on 17 April. After the draw in Nyon, Switzerland, on Friday morning, Muller posted a video message on X, formerly known as Twitter.

“Kai Havertz, my friend, I am waiting for you,” he said. “It’s a beautiful draw. Two very good teams, two very good stadiums, two very good cities. It will be tough, but I am always positive. I’ll see you again soon.”

Within hours, Muller’s video received more than two million views and 30,000 likes. Havertz responded half an hour later, writing simply: “Müller was there to win in that moment: “[two emojis crying with laughter] It will surely be a good match [emojis flexing biceps] #YaGunnersYa.”

Müller has played against Arsenal seven times in his career – all in the Champions League so far – winning four times, losing twice and conceding one goal chance. The 34-year-old also had a good personal performance against the Gunners, scoring five goals and an assist.

Despite his good results in front of goal, Muller actually only played four minutes in the 2017 match where Bayern beat Arsenal 10-2. Interestingly, he still managed to find the net and score from the bench in the first game of the round of 16.

While Muller and the rest of his teammates may be licking their lips, Mikel Arteta has since transformed Arsenal into a much more competitive team. Speaking to reporters after the win over Porto at the Emirates Stadium on Tuesday night, the Gunners boss was asked what impact the victory will have on his team for the rest of the tournament.

He replied. What we expected, a really tough opponent, very well organised and very difficult to create a sustained momentum in the game. It is their merit. We did it. We scored a wonderful goal and then we continued in different ways.

“We had to do it at the end with penalty kicks. We prepared well. Credit to the coaches and those who implemented them. And of course to David, who had some difficult moments in the beginning, but stood up with incredible personality and ambition. In the end, we got the prize.”

Arteta added: “For them to do it when the club has not managed to do it for 14 years, I can say it will be an encouragement. The differences are so small. You find a way to do it again.

“I can see how much they want it, how hard they try and that they are capable of sacrificing everything to win. When you play the way you do, good things will happen to you.”