Arsenal: Eric Dier makes Harry Kane prediction in Champions League warning for Mikel Arteta

The former Tottenham striker has got the better of the Gunners on many previous meetings

Harry Kane has been backed by Eric Dier to make an impact against Arsenal on his return to north London.

But Dier has warned Bayern Munich they face a "grittier" and "less naive" Gunners side in their Champions League showdown at Emirates Stadium.

Former Tottenham striker Kane hopes to come back to haunt Arsenal in the first leg of their last-16 tie.

The England captain is the top scorer in north London derbies, with 14 goals in 19 appearances — and five of those goals came at Emirates Stadium.

Arsenal played a lot nicer football last season, but now seem a bit less naive

Eric Dier

"Football is beautiful in this way, where it always seems to give you these storylines, with myself and Harry Kane facing Arsenal so soon after leaving England," said Dier, who followed Kane to Bayern in January following the latter's £100million move from Spurs last summer.

"When you get to this point in the Champions League, every team is going to be difficult and you're going to have to beat some top teams to get to the final.

"For Harry and me, it might feel a little different than the rest of the team, but for everyone else it's just a normal Champions League tie. I'm sure Harry will have more of an impact on the game than me."

Eric Dier is set to line up against Arsenal
Getty Images

Arsenal suffered a miserable run of results against Bayern from 2013 to 2017 and were thrashed 10-2 on aggregate when the sides last met seven years ago.

But Bayern have endured a nightmare season in the Bundesliga and Dier says this Arsenal side are a very different beast.

"Last season, Arsenal played a lot nicer football than this season, but this year they seem to be a lot more result driven, a bit grittier, a bit less naive," Dier told the Overlap podcast ahead of the game.

"I think they would have tried to go toe-to-toe with Manchester City last year, even at the Etihad, and this year they seemed to want to defend well during the game and move on."

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