Per Mertesacker believes that Arsenal have the quality to beat Bayern Munich.

The Gunners face the Champions League holders in the last 16, with the first leg on Wednesday night at the Emirates Stadium.

Arsene Wenger's side were knocked out of the competition by the German giants last season, but Mertesacker insists that they are now mentally stronger.

"We have to go for two perfect games against them. We know we can beat them now, so maybe mentally we are in a better condition than last year," the defender told The Mirror.

"We respected them too much in the first leg then, so it was too easy for them. Maybe we have learned something from those lessons and will do better this time.

"Now we have another chance - and an opportunity to beat the champions. We want to achieve something exceptional this season, so we have to beat the best."

Bayern beat Freiburg on Saturday for their 13th win in a row.