Football and friendship – what a lovely combination!
Arsenal will face off against Bayern Munich in the Champions League Round-of-16 tonight, and as usual, there was plenty of banter on the training ground.
From Ozil, Podolski and the club’s German gang rallying together in London Colney to Dante and Rafinha having a laugh at each other’s expense, it’s almost as if the match tonight itself doesn’t deserve to take centre stage.
“On Wednesday evening we’re competing against the official best team in the world. The good news: Hulk, Superman and Rambo are on our side,” wrote Ozil on his official social media page, referring to the Christmas/Halloween costumes of Bacary Sagna and Podolski last year.
Meanwhile, over at Bayern, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Mario Mandzukic, Dante and Rafinha were all spotted trying to ‘restrain’ the Brazilian during a training session yesterday.
Dante, who is the club’s resident ‘clown’, was offended when the German media laughed at a mistake he had reportedly made during a training drill. Click here to watch the video, where you can clearly hear the laughter and the reaction of the defender.
However, his teammates – including the normally serious Arjen Robben – all tried to joke with him to calm him down. Mandzukic ran to embrace him while Rafinha laughed along. Rule Number 1 – learn to laugh at yourself first!
