'You discuss him as defenders' - Jurrien Timber admits Arsenal are plotting how to silence Harry Kane ahead of crunch meeting with unbeaten Bayern Munich

On Wednesday night at Emirates Stadium, Premier League leaders Arsenal entertain Bundesliga table-toppers Bayern in a mouth-watering contest. Both teams have 12 points from a possible 12 in their Champions League campaigns so far and both have comfortable leads in their respective divisions. The German giants have scored a remarkable 41 goals in 11 Bundesliga matches, winning 10 of them, whereas the Gunners are six points clear ahead of second-placed Chelsea in the Premier League. Arguably for both sides, this is their biggest test of the season. Both teams are in strong positions to make it through to the knockout stages of the competition, and a defeat in north London will not be terminal. But bragging rights are on offer, likely sending a message to their European rivals. One man who has helped Bayern reach this point is England captain Kane, who has continued his prolific scoring form this season. If Mikel Arteta's side can stop him, they may come out on top.

Arsenal defender Timber is well aware of Kane's quality. The 32-year-old has scored 26 goals in 19 appearances for club and country this term, but on the flip side, the Gunners have conceded just six times in all competitions. Either way, this is a clash of two juggernauts fighting for supremacy.

When asked about having a plan to combat Kane, he replied: "That is not going to be easy, of course. I think he is an amazing striker, everyone knows that. He has so many qualities. He has been doing it for such a long time already, and now at Bayern Munich he has been one of the best players in the world. So, it is going to be a nice challenge for us as a team, as defenders, to stop him tomorrow. I think when you face an opposition with Harry Kane as the striker, he is a topic and you discuss him as defenders, because he is one of the dangerous players. It is the same with any other game, we discuss their players and the way they play. For tomorrow, it is the same."

Timber also talked up how hard it is for teams to breach Arsenal's defence, with the players eager to be part of that collective effort.

"If you look at Ebs’ [Eberechi Eze] performance the other day against Tottenham, he scored three goals but defensively he was amazing as well," he said. "So, I think it is the whole team that is trying to step up and do a bit more also. You have the example of Gabriel, everybody knows he is out and at the same time we know as defenders, as a team, we have to step up when a big player like him goes out of the team. I think it is just everyone taking their responsibility in defending and also attacking."

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You don't have to go too far back for an Arsenal vs Bayern clash. Indeed, the two clubs faced off against one another in 2024, with the Bavarian outfit knocking out Arteta's side in the quarter-finals of the Champions League. Kane himself had an excellent record against Arsenal while playing for Tottenham, with the striker finding the net on 11 occasions. But he thinks that won't have much bearing on Wednesday's fixture.

Ahead of the game, he said: "With Tottenham, it was always one of the biggest games of the season against Arsenal; I have friends who are fans of both teams. It's not quite the same with Bayern as we don't always play against each other – we got an important win against them in the quarter-finals two years ago. I've scored a lot of goals here in this stadium – but haven't won many games. I hope we can change that tomorrow. Obviously when I was at Tottenham, the North London derby was always a big moment. But it's not about me against Arsenal, it's about Bayern against Arsenal. I'm in good form and it's all about helping my team and scoring goals."

While some sides may balk at a challenge such as facing Vincent Kompany's high-flyers, manager Arteta is chomping at the bit for this one.

He told reporters on Tuesday: "For sure, this is the kind of game in the competition that we want to face, and we've been very consistent in both competitions and as you mentioned they have as well. Tomorrow is a great test for us to see where we are."