Arsenal defender Per Mertesacker has admitted that Bayern Munich are "untouchable" ahead of their meeting in the Champions League last 16.
The Gunners will come up against the German giants in the first leg of their tie on Wednesday, having been eliminated by them at the same stage of last season's competition despite springing a surprise 2-0 victory in the away leg.
Bayern went on to lift the trophy under Jupp Heynckes and have gone from strength to strength under new manager Pep Guardiola, dropping just four points in the Bundesliga this season.
"Bayern are untouchable at the moment, both in the Bundesliga and in Europe. The only thing that makes me positive is that we beat them in Munich last year," Mertesacker told Sport1.de.
"That allows us to go into the game with a certain degree of faith. We're going to give it our best.
"They're a little bit better in every department under Pep Guardiola. They've set a new benchmark. We're going to have to get a different result this time because the 3-1 defeat [in the first leg] practically decided the tie last year. That was the decisive game."
Bayern are bidding to become the first team to successfully defend the Champions League title.
Barney Corkhill
