Eric Dier understands Anfield mentality now he’s at Bayern Munich as he warns Arsenal ahead of Champions League clash

Eric Dier has revealed that Bayern Munich will remain confident whatever the result of the Champions League quarter-final first leg.

The Bayern defender, on loan from Tottenham in January, warned Arsenal of the challenge they will face in the second leg of their European tie, live on talkSPORT, during their trip to the Allianz Arena.

The German giants have had a disappointing campaign so far, having effectively surrendered the Bundesliga title to leaders Bayer Leverkusen, who they trail by 16 points.

It means the Bavarian side’s title hopes this season now rest entirely on European success, and they will certainly have their work cut out for them as they prepare to face Premier League leaders Arsenal at the Emirates .

But Dier revealed Bayern would remain unfazed even if they fail to get a result in north London, as the Gunners will then have to contend with their home advantage in the second leg, which he compared to the famous Liverpool Anfield atmosphere.

Speaking to Gary Neville on The Overlap podcast, the 30-year-old highlighted his side’s victory over Lazio in the previous round of the competition.

Speaking about the game which saw them win 3-0 in Munich after losing the first leg 1-0, Dier said: “It’s a funny feeling for me. When we lost to Lazio I was on the bench and after the match I remember a lot of things were said in the dressing room.

“And it was kind of a quiet locker room: (it was like) ‘It’s okay, they have to come here now, they have to come to the Allianz.’

“I’ve never really felt that before, that feeling of confidence.

He then explained: “It made me think a little bit about how Liverpool must feel a lot of the time when they say, ‘Okay, now they have to come and play at Anfield’.”

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Despite his high confidence in Bayern’s home advantage, Dier admitted he was aware of the huge threat posed by Arsenal, who he believes are a much tougher team this season than in the past.

He said of his old north London rivals: “I think they (Arsenal) are a very different team to last season.

“I think last season they played much better football than this season, but this season they seem to be a lot more results-oriented, a little more courageous, a little less naive, I would probably say.”

The Englishman also highlighted the attacking prowess of Mikel Arteta’s side, who count his England teammate Bukayo Saka among their impressive attacking line.

On Arsenal’s counterattack threat, he said: “It’s obviously something we’ll have to be extremely careful about.

“I know Bukayo and (Gabriel) Martinelli very well, and they have good rhythm on the wings.

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“Leandro Trossard has also proven to be a very good player, so that’s something we’ll obviously have to pay a lot of attention to.”

Nonetheless, Dier admitted he was relishing the opportunity to face the Gunners again, describing the match against his parent club’s arch-rivals as “magnificent”.

He explained: “Football is beautiful that way. Football always seems to give you these storylines.

Admitting the tie would have increased importance for him and teammate Harry Kane, who left Spurs for Bayern in 2023, he backed the striker to have a say in the clash, saying: ” Harry can have more of an impact on this match than me.”