FC Bayern will have to do without Michael Olise in their Champions League showdown against Arsenal, of all teams. The French national team player will miss Wednesday night’s match for the Munich side due to the yellow-red card he received in the game against Viking Stavanger. For Sky expert Dietmar Hamann, this is a significant problem. Serge Gnabry, however, isn’t buying the criticism from the former Bayern pro and responds with strong words.
Olise has been one of the standout players for the German record champions this season. The 24-year-old is not only one of the team’s most important playmakers but also regularly scores goals himself.
Consequently, there is a lot of discussion about how Bayern can compensate for the absence of their offensive star against Arsenal. Hamann sees a fundamental problem in Munich’s attacking play.
Gnabry responds to Hamann’s criticism
“No Olise, no party! I think Bayern’s dependence on Olise is getting too great. If he doesn’t do anything, no one else does!” Hamann told BILD.
It’s an assessment that Serge Gnabry clearly doesn’t share. At the press conference ahead of the Arsenal game, the 31-year-old was confronted with the TV pundit’s comments. “I don’t think a statement like that will rattle us or give us any extra motivation. If something’s in the paper, we don’t really care that much. We’re focused on winning games,” the German national team player clarified.
Gnabry didn’t want to downplay his teammate’s importance, however. “Michael is one of the standout players on our team who consistently delivers incredible performances. There’s no denying that when he doesn’t play, we’re missing a key component,” the forward emphasized.
Nevertheless, Gnabry is convinced that Munich has enough alternatives.
“Nevertheless, the team is, of course, always prepared for lineup changes due to injuries, and we have incredible quality up front, no matter who plays. That’s why we just have to go all out tomorrow.”
Will Lennart Karl get his big chance?
It’s still unclear who will replace Olise against Arsenal. Young prospect Lennart Karl is considered a possible candidate. The 18-year-old could see action on the right wing and thus play an important role in this top-of-the-table clash.
Assistant coach Aaron Danks, who stood in for Vincent Kompany—who was ill—at the press conference, didn’t want to commit to a solution just yet, however. “I haven’t given it much thought yet. I’ll speak with Vinc later. Lenny is one of several who could step into the team right now,” the Englishman explained.
Danks also sees the absence as an opportunity for other offensive players to prove themselves on the big stage.
Lothar Matthäus had also recently warned of the consequences of Olise’s suspension. “We’ll see on Wednesday just how much the team will miss Olise. You can’t replace him one-to-one,” explained the record-holding national team player.
For Gnabry and his teammates, the match against Arsenal thus offers an opportunity to prove the critics wrong. Bayern wants to show that their offense can perform at the highest level even without Olise.