Bayern Munich honorary president Uli Hoeneß used a public appearance to level a blistering critique at Liverpool’s summer transfer activity and the way Florian Wirtz has been deployed since his arrival. Hoeneß highlighted the scale of Liverpool’s spending, noting the club spent almost £450 million ($595.1 million) over the summer while, he said, Bayern had spent around £370 million over the past three years combined.

Hoeneß spoke in front of 10,000 spectators at a business event in Munich’s Olympic Hall, comments that were covered by BILD. “They spent €500 million and are having a disastrous season,” he cackled. “In my opinion, that’s because they only have superstars. They only have chiefs and no Indians—I shouldn’t even say that, they’re indigenous people.”

He added sharper criticism aimed at Liverpool’s handling of Wirtz, who moved to Liverpool in what the draft describes as a club-record £116 million deal after Liverpool beat Bayern to his signature. Hoeneß argued the move has not worked out for the German playmaker and singled out managerial promises. “Obviously, manager Slot promised him something he’s not keeping,” he huffed. “He clearly promised him he’d get the No. 10 jersey. He was very particular about that. And he also promised he’d build a new team around him. Nonsense! The fact is, he’s now playing with No. 7, and his new team is playing everything but around Florian Wirtz. And with as many defeats as Liverpool have suffered, the season is practically over.”

Hoeneß also observed squad dynamics: “I always say: In Liverpool, they’ll soon have to play with five balls because the stars won’t give up any of them. Poor Florian Wirtz, he doesn’t even get a ball because [Mohamed] Salah and [Dominik] Szoboszlai and all the others want to play with their own,” Hoeneß hissed.

Those comments came hours after Wirtz produced one of his strongest performances for Liverpool in the 2–0 victory over West Ham United that ended a run of nine defeats in 12 games. Slot surmised it was “a good game” for the returning schemer. “We tried to create an extra midfielder and he was very important for us to find every time the extra midfielder,” Slot explained. Wirtz created one chance — Alexander Isak blazed it high over the bar — and his movement opened space for Cody Gakpo to tee up Isak for the opening goal.

Harry Kane insisted he was “looking forward” to another meeting with Arsenal in the Champions League after Bayern Munich were beaten 3–1 at the Emirates Stadium in midweek. The England captain, the all-time top scorer in north London derby history, had arrived intent on adding to his 15-goal tally against Arsenal but finished the match without a single attempt.

It was the first time in 22 appearances against Arsenal that Kane has ended an outing without an attempt on goal. Not since October 2023 has the 32-year-old gone through an entire Champions League match without shooting. His match return read: 90 minutes, 0 goals, 0 shots, 0 shots on target, 0 chances created, 1 touch in the attacking penalty box and 3 touches in the defensive penalty box. Stats via FBref.

Bayern as a team mustered only eight attempts while Arsenal threatened mostly from set pieces. Lennart Karl produced a crisp first-half equaliser and David Raya made just a single save across the 90 minutes.

On the result and his own display, Kane was measured. “I’m sure we’ll see them again in the later stages of the Champions League and we look forward to that one,” he told TNT Sports. “A good battle,” Bayern’s talisman reflected. “I thought the first half was fairly even, a draw was probably a fair result.

“And then second half, we just didn’t quite have the same intensity and energy. We lost too many duels and in the end Arsenal punished us for that.”

Kane had warned of Arsenal’s set-piece threat before the match. “They have got good structure, they win first and second balls and then obviously set pieces, we knew they were going to be dangerous,” he sighed. “They are a good team, there is a reason why they have won every game in the Champions League and why they are top of the Premier League.”

There was a pricklier tone from some Bayern voices after the defeat, and Vincent Kompany said: “I don’t think any of us want to be the best team in November.” Declan Rice urged perspective for Arsenal, warning his teammates not to “get carried away”. “There is a long way to go,” Rice pointed out. “Look at Bayern Munich this season, they have been the best team in Europe,” he gushed. “This was probably the toughest game tactically we have played this season. The way they work it is so, so good.”

Harry Kane acknowledged a shift in how he watches English football, blaming the current emphasis on dead-ball situations for sapping some of the Premier League’s entertainment value. The Bayern Munich striker, who is also the England captain, suggested the trend has affected his engagement with the competition.

“Watching the Premier League is probably a little less enjoyable than what it has been in recent years, to be honest, but that’s kind of the evolution of football,” the England captain sighed. Kane pointed to one clear beneficiary of the trend. “Sometimes it comes in like this and that’s the case this year. Arsenal have capitalised on that and are a really strong set-plays team.”

The Gunners have produced 10 set-piece Premier League goals this season, and while the share of non-penalty goals from set plays has edged from 21% to 23%, Arsenal’s specific strength from dead balls is indisputable. Bayern must prepare accordingly ahead of their Champions League meeting.

Kane downplayed any exceptional change to Bayern’s routine. “We’ve done our normal preparation that we do in every game,” he shrugged. “Obviously, we looked at what they do well and their threats and how we can try and stop that.” He added a simple blueprint: “The best way of stopping that is not giving set plays away, which we’re hoping to try and do as little as possible if we can control the game in the way that we want to control the game.”

Defensive resilience will be vital. Bayern have conceded just 30 shots from set pieces this Bundesliga season, the second fewest in the division, but those opportunities have produced six dead-ball goals, the third-worst return.

Kane underlined the need for courage and duels: “Obviously, they’re going to have some, but it’s just a matter of showing some personality, winning the duels.” His record against Arsenal, including a Champions League penalty strike on his first trip to the Emirates with Bayern in April 2024, keeps him prominent in their planning.

Asked about the danger he poses, Mikel Arteta said, “I wouldn’t use that word,” the Spanish boss sniped. “I admire what he has done and what he continues to do, and the level of consistency.” Arteta added: “Be prepared for what is coming and then focus on ourselves.”

On the pitch, Jurriën Timber reflected the defenders’ view: “When you face an opposition with Harry Kane as the striker, he is a topic and you discuss him as defenders, because he is one of the dangerous players,” the Dutch defender admitted.

Current basic numbers for Kane read: Games 21, Goals 15, Penalties 8, Assists 2, Wins 8, Draws 6, Losses 7.