Van Buyten: Bayern should not take Arsenal tie lightly

26 Jan 2013 12:20:00

The Belgium international has stressed that the Gunners will not be pushovers in the Champions League, and is keen to end his career at the Allianz Arena

Daniel Van Buyten has warned his Bayern Munich team-mates not to underestimate Arsenal in their Champions League round of 16 tie.

The Bavarians are by many seen as the favourites to reach the quarter-finals at the expense of the Premier League side, but the veteran has stressed that the Gunners will be tough opponents.

"We are aware of the fact that we have now reached the stage where every opponent poses a stern test, regardless of what the so-called experts and statistics say," Van Buyten told Bild.

"If we go into the tie thinking that it will be easy for us, it is going to be extremely tough."

The Belgian defender then went on to say that he is keen to extend his expiring contract with Bayern as he intends to end his contract at his current club.

"I want to end my career at Bayern, but not at the end of this season. We all know how I am when it comes to negotiations. Things can go very quickly with me. We wouldn't even need to negotiate."

Van Buyten joined Bayern from Hamburg in the summer of 2006 and has since made over 100 Bundesliga appearances for the Bavarians.