Arsenal defender Thomas Vermaelen has admitted that winning against Bayern Munich in the Champions League will be tough.

The two sides have been pitted against each other in the last-16 stage, with the first leg to be held at the Emirates Stadium in February.

"It's a tough one but we knew before [that] it doesn't matter who we drew, it will always be a tough one, especially in the Champions League," he told Arsenal's official website.

"You play against the best teams in Europe. I think it will be a nice game. Bayern Munich are doing well in the German league. They are in first spot so it won't be easy but I'm looking forward to the game.

"There's less than two months to go [until] the first game so a lot of things can happen with the team, positively and negatively. We'll see at that time how it goes. I'm confident we can get the result if we have a good day."

Vermaelen added that Arsenal need luck to progress to the latter stages of the Champions League.

"Most of the time in the Premier League, the one that's the most consistent wins the league," he said. "The Champions League is a tournament. Anything can happen.

"It's only about two games, one an away game. You need a bit of luck in the tournament as well so we'll see how far we can get."

Arsenal lost to AC Milan in the last 16 last season, while Bayern reached the final.